


Harmony

by Cupcakes-n-Stuff (TightTights)



Category: Borderlands, Tales from the Borderlands - Fandom
Genre: Complete, Eridians, F/M, Post-Finale, Vault - Freeform, mild headcanon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-31
Updated: 2016-09-09
Packaged: 2018-07-28 11:07:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 23,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7637707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TightTights/pseuds/Cupcakes-n-Stuff
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Guns and ooh-shiny loot aren't the only treasure a Vault can bestow.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi. I finally got around to finishing up TFTBL recently, and like many fans I was underwhelmed by the Fiona/Rhys option tacked on at the end. Don't get me STARTED on the tension as they ascended the Vault staircase...
> 
> Anyway, as a result, I felt compelled to write down and share a scene that came to mind. Maybe take a solid crack at a Fiona/Rhys-centric version of the 'after' since it may be a while before we see a Season 2. Gotta tide ourselves over somehow. Hey, isn't that what fanfic is for?

The next thing she felt was warmth, contrasting with the cold alien stone beneath her palm.  The sensation slipped around her shoulders, drawing her in like a loving embrace after returning from a bitter storm. She felt naked, yet invincible. It made no sense, but the feeling soothed her, even as she felt herself become weightless, levitating upwards. She closed her eyes and leaned forward. She didn’t understand, but she wanted to feel like this for a long time.  Forever, even.

 _Are there more to Vaults than money and loot?_ she wondered. _Could Vaults bring this joy and peace to Pandora? To the universe?_

She smiled. If Rhys was experiencing the same sensations, then she hoped he was also keeping his lunch down.

Her eyes snapped open. _Rhys!_

Her bliss ripped away from her. A cold rush of air sliced through her. Her weight returned, and she crashed down onto her backside. Stunned and still hazy, she propped herself up, feeling an ice cold floor under her fingertips as her senses returned. The air smelled dank, and seemed a little thin.  When her focus finally sharpened, her mouth fell open. She stared up at something not... _not human_. She recognized it, though, especially as it brandished a purple glowy spear.  Her eyes then traced over her surroundings.  They, too, were similar to that of the Traveler’s interior; geometric patterns were carved into the stone, with crystalline peculiarities and luminescent rivulets filling in the cracks and crevices.   It might be beautiful if it were not so  _alien_. 

“Oh, god,” she heard in her left ear. She snapped her head around.

“Rhys, are you okay?”

Rhys sat up, clutching his forehead. “Fiona? Why did you wake me? I was having the most wonderf- _WHAA!_ ”

He reeled back from the alien, scooting several meters back. “Wha-wha-whaaaaat is that?” he said, his voice spooling up for a horrified scream.

“It’s one of those things I saw inside the Traveler,” Fiona said, scooting back herself while keeping her eyes fixed on the mysterious creature.

Rhys swallowed the scream with a heavy gulp. “So that means it’s gonna kill us in return for killing its pet. Perfect! It’s not like I wanted *#%$-you money, or the best technology in the universe. Oh no, I definitely wanted to meet my doom alone and confused at the hands of the weirdest-looking space alien I’ve ever seen!”

“Hey!” Fiona said, looking over her shoulder. Rhys froze, dumbfounded, as if she cracked a whip over his head. She continued, “I’m with you on the confused part, but you’re not alone. Maybe, um, maybe I can negotiate with it.”

“ _Negotiate_ with it?”

“Language analyzed,” the creature muttered, drawing their attention. “Narrow vocabulary.  
Heavy slang, euphemism, sarcasm, insult. Attempting communication…” The alien robotically raised its free hand. “Hi.”

Fiona turned to glance at Rhys, and he shrugged at her in reply. Turning back to the creature, she ventured, “Hi?”

“What’s shakin’?” the alien said.

“Um, not much?”

“What do you mean, 'not much'?” Rhys hissed.

“I don’t know, it was reflexive!” Fiona hissed back. Suddenly, the creature thrust its glowy spear forward, the tip coming within milimeters of Fiona’s nose.

“Hey, hey!” Rhys said, scootching forward.

“Ya’ll better tell me what in the skag’s blue tongue you are doing here before I open a can of murder on your face,” the creature stated coldly. Rhys stopped his advance, but not after quirking his brow at the creature.

Fiona winced at the awkward Pandoran accent coming from the alien. “Um, humans don’t really-,” Fiona started, but quickly aborted when the spear tip moved to her eye. Her breath caught and she held up her hands. “We-went-inside-a-Vault-and-opened-a-weird-purple-box-thing-and-got-transported-here-and-I-don’t-know-but-oh-my-god-we’re-sorry,” she breathed.

“Pretty please don’t kill us?” Rhys offered meekly.

“Where’s my pet?” the creature demanded.

“See?” Rhys whispered.

Fiona blinked, her face falling. “Dead. On Pandora.”

“What? _How?_ ” the creature asked.

“We destroyed it,” Rhys said. “Uh, in self-defense to be sure! We’re sorry if it was sentimental for you, really. Just _please_ don’t kill her! Or, you know, me, either.”

The creature relented. It withdrew the spear, with a long breath from Fiona following behind. “Self-defense? Bullshit. That giant raging death machine is itself a defense. We built it to *&%$ up anyone seeking to spoil yet another temple,” the alien said.

“Temple?” Fiona said. “You mean the Vault?”

“Tch, yeah. What you hairy, farting squishbags call Vaults are like, really super duper sacred places. The crazy shit you see inside them is all pretend, constructed from your personal experiences and expectations. But their true wonder is in what they grant you: the deepest desires of your heart. That’s not pretend. That stuff you can carry with you on the outside.”

“Huh,” Fiona said, absorbing the information.

“So what’s wrong with letting a few of us in on this amazing power?” Rhys asked. “I mean, aren’t there supposed to be some incalculable number of them in the known universe? There should be plenty to go around.”

“Because once you’re inside, it’s limited time only. Once it’s juice is sucked dry, the Vault ceases to exist. Zip. Nada. Kaput,” the alien replied. “And we will not have such badass power wasted on stupid asshats who’ll just turn around and vendor the loot for chump change.”

“You still sound really weird,” Rhys said. “Maybe it’s just because you’re an alien.”

“Anyway, so why have entrances to guard in the first place? Didn’t you make the damn things?” Fiona asked.

The creature reeled. “What? Did we-? God, no.”

“ _What?_ ” they said simultaneously.

The alien shrugged. “Even me and my fellow alien bros have no idea where Vaults came from.” It then turned towards Rhys. It approached him, spear tip hovering ominously near his chest. “But we will protect them. _Especially_ from those who would loot its treasure like a fat kid under a pinata!”

“You stop right there!” Fiona said, stretching out her right arm. She took hold of her derringer and pointed it at the alien’s back.

The alien stopped in its tracks, but its shoulders bobbed when it emitted a low chuckle. Then, it stabbed the spear straight into Rhys’ left shoulder. He cried out as the tip buried itself in its flesh. After an agonizing moan, he yelled, “We had no idea! We didn’t know, you asshole! Stop it! Fiona!”

Gritting her teeth, she chose her element carefully. _Alien, so, probably shielded._ The gun barrels spun and the shock type clicked into place. The familiar bang filled her ears as she pulled the trigger.

But the alien raised its other arm and slapped the bullet away, sharply ricocheting off of the polished stone floor.

“Damn it!” Fiona loaded another round. _Fire?_ It, too, was knocked away harmlessly. Her pulse jumped as Rhys cried out again. “H-hang on!” But as the alien continued to cackle, her panic transmuted. The indignity sparked a well of anger inside of her. She retracted her weapon and rose to her feet.

“Fiona,” Rhys grunted. “Don’t come closer. You have to run!”

Fiona bore her teeth and said, “We didn’t get any fancy toys. We didn’t get _anything_ we desired. We got flung to god-knows-where, only to be toyed with by some alien that speaks literally _the worst_ Pandoran. Do you really think this was our deepest desire?”

The creature then yanked the spear from Rhys, pivoting to point it at Fiona’s stomach. Rhys groaned, covering the wound with his artificial hand.

“Now that is a right conundrum,” the alien said. “The Vault must’ve given you something before I transported you dickheads here-” The alien shook its spear at Fiona. “ _...and not our poor, beloved Pebbles!_ ”

“Wait, ‘Pebbles’?” Fiona repeated, her brow relaxing.

Even Rhys was pulled away from attending his wound. “Pebbles? Is that what you named that giant pain in the ass?” he asked with a strained chuckle.

“Well, it sounds far stupider in your equally stupid language!” the alien protested. “You don't get it.  Pebbles was _awesome_. It took centuries for us to synchronize him with one of the most unstable Vaults in this galaxy.”

“Us? You mean you and your friends that were inside his chest cavity?” Fiona asked.

“Probably not smart to bring that up,” Rhys muttered.

The alien straightened. “Wait, are they dead, too? They are, aren’t they? No... _Nooooo!_ You-you assholes!”

The alien lunged, aiming to skewer Fiona straight through her aorta. Rhys, however, had already pulled his legs under him and sprung forward. With his artificial arm crossed in front of him, he tackled the alien and pinned it to the ground with his full body weight. With his other hand, he grabbed his stun baton and brought the charged rod down on the alien’s spear arm. The shock loosened the alien’s grip and the spear dropped, clattered to a stop some centimeters away.

“Nice,” Fiona said, and she meant it. When the alien reached out for the spear with its gnarly fingers, she quickly jogged over and placed her boot on it.

“Hooo boy, ah,” Rhys said, wincing as the alien squirmed beneath him. “Wow, and you are even uglier up close.”

“Thanks,” Fiona said.  "For the save, I mean."

Rhys grunted. “Hey, what are you waiting for? It’s still trying to kill us here!”

Fiona kicked the spear up where she snatched it from the air. She came to stand over the alien, aiming the spear’s point at what she believed was the alien’s head-face-thing. Only then did the alien stop its struggle.

“I think, I see…” the alien mumbled. “Figures ya’ll are crazier than a starving borok in heat.”

Rhys growled before saying, “Nope. Can’t stand it anymore. Please stab it and make it stop talking.”

“Not before it sends us back,” Fiona said. “Send us back to Pandora,” she commanded the alien.

The alien seemed to ponder the request as it relaxed underneath Rhys, though the latter still kept his weight on his metal arm. Then, it sighed and said, “Fine. And I shall attempt to...compensate for your dialect.”

“Thank you,” Rhys said.

“But I must ask you something first. Something puzzling to me since you appeared instead of Pebbles.”

Fiona rolled her eyes and huffed. “What?” she spat.

“Are you bonded in some way? Mates, perhaps?”

“What? Ugh,” Fiona said.

“You don’t have to sound _that_ repulsed,” Rhys said over his shoulder. “Um, but no, and what the hell does that have to do with anything?”

The alien paused again. “This Vault. Its instability not only alters its location, but its power is only accessible to pairs. Pairs who share the same desires. They must share a common goal, a mutual destiny. It is itself chaotic, yet it categorically rejects any discord.   I am baffled that a pair of brutes could manage to achieve such a harmony.”

Fiona looked to Rhys, and he back at her. Their eyes met, each pair questioning the other. “So am I?” Fiona finally managed.

“Harmony. _Right._ I think we spoiled that theory. There’s nothing even remotely resembling harmony between us,” Rhys said dryly.

Fiona felt her grip on the spear slip. She caught herself, however, and shook her head. _Why did she feel so unnerved all of a sudden?_

"And you claim you didn't receive anything.  Fascinating!" the alien continued.  It chuckled and then said, “You know what? I don’t even care anymore that you butchered my friends and my beloved pet. I can’t wait to file my report on this meeting. This discovery is totally and completely _squeeeeee!_ ”

Rhys pressed down and raised the baton. “I thought you said you’d ‘compensate for the dialect.’”

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” the alien said. “Listen, you two have genuinely piqued my curiosity. Yes, and in exchange, I will see you safely back to your home.”

“Uh, good,” Rhys said. “Then do it!”

“Just let me take care of one last thing…”

“Careful, Rhys,” Fiona said. “Rhys!” Her vision grew blurry, then a violet glow blinded her.

“Let go of me!” she heard Rhys shout. She then heard her name, but hollow as an echo. She called back, but the darkness swallowed her up.


	2. Left Behind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chappy. Fair warning: I'm half-certain, half-winging this fic. Hope you all enjoy what I come up with.

When he came to, he felt...wet. His eyes met with shadowy clouds, and gentle droplets of rain tapped over his cheeks.

 _No, more like soaked._ He tilted his chin down, finding himself partially submerged in a shallow puddle up to his mid-torso. He dared to test his arms and legs, and felt his undershirt and pants stick to his skin like cold seaweed. Worse, his socks were squishy. _Ew ew ew._

He sat up, sputtering as he spat out mud and dirt. The sudden movement set off a hammering in his head, and he groaned, touching his left forefinger to his temple. He blinked, willing the pain to recede as he assessed the landscape around him. Though darkened by the overcast sky, he still recognized the same canyon where Gortys had anchored the Vault. Its arch still stood, and a heavenly glow - though weak - still shone through.

 _How did I-? Oh yeah, the alien,_ he thought. _Seriously. Why must the universe punish the good?_

He hoped his friends were okay. And especially Fiona. Wait, _Fiona!_

“Fiona!” he called, pivoting frantically in search of her. When he could not see her, he leaped from the puddle, water splashing high around him. His boots slapped against the muddy earth as he dashed to and fro, checking every dim and dark patch in the vicinity, hoping that one of them was Fiona.

He paused his search when he ran out of breath. He found nothing but stones, torn rubber, and metal scrap. He then telescoped his left eye to search further across the long valley, but detected nothing even remotely human-shaped.

“Oh no.  No-no-no-no,” he said, his voice strained. His heart rate quickened. _What if the alien still had her?_ He clapped his artificial hand over his mouth in an attempt to suppress his panic. The Vault drew his gaze, and its light calmed him. After a deep breath, he slowly lowered his arm, a grim scowl crossing his features. He knew exactly what he had to do.

* * *

 

“OH MY GOD GUYS! HELP! THEY TOOK HER! THE PURPLE ALIEN BASTARDS TOOK HER!”

“Holy shit! _Rhys!_ ” Vaughn leaped down from the back of a technical. “Scouts told me you were headed this way, but I couldn’t believe it! I still can’t believe it!”

“Whatever, that’s great and all, but Vaughn!” Rhys snatched him up by his lapels. “They have her! We have to get the team! We need reinforcements if we’re going to get her back!”

“Ooookay. So you might have finally lost your last screw, but wow, glad you’re alive!” Vaughn said, twisting his face away. His bright eyes then grew sullen. “We’d almost lost hope. Why did you have to go in there by yourselves?”

Rhys’ hands flew from his lapels to his shoulders, pinning Vaughn between his hands. With a searing stare, he said, “Listen, I’ll tell you all about it later, there’s _no time!_ They still have Fiona!”

“But she’s-”

“Gather everybody up!”

Rhys pushed him aside, tuning him out as he stormed past the gates of New Helios. He ignored the throngs of citizens gasping and falling to their knees as he made his way to their base of operations. Once there, he climbed the steps, then pressed his toe against the rain-slicked door. He flung it wide, and there, seated at a rusty metal table under a harsh lantern, he found Sasha, Loader Bot, and Gortys, each with a stack of poker chips and a handful of playing cards. The fourth seat stood empty, but that side too had a stack of chips and cards laid upside down on the table.

“Oh, hi Rhys!” Gortys called, waving her arm.

“Hello,” Loader Bot greeted flatly.

In contrast, Sasha’s smile fell into a shocked gape. The playing cards in her hand fell from her fingers and collapsed into a heap on the table. “Is that...no. No way. No fricken way.  Rhys! _Rhys!_ ”

She charged from the table, and he stumbled backward from the threshold when she collided with him in a tight embrace.

“Whoa, now,” he said, patting the top of her head. “It’s raining out here.”

“I thought you were dead!” Sasha whispered, her voice catching in her throat. “Really, this time!”

“I’m fine, thanks,” Rhys replied, growing slightly annoyed. “Can I come in? I have something extremely important to discuss. It’s about Fiona.”

“What?” Sasha said, releasing him. She stepped back, tilting her head with a quirked brow.

Rhys followed her inside, shaking wet strands of hair from his face. “You know, your _sister?_ ”

“Duh. What about her?” Sasha said, crossing her arms.

Rhys looked over the poker table and growled. “I see you and Vaughn have been having fun. Meanwhile, Fi is out there alone somewhere on some alien planet! She’s probably being experimented on as we speak!”

The corner of Sasha’s lip curled upward. “What are you talking about?”

“Did you hit your head again out there?” Gortys asked in her sincere tone.

Rhys grit his teeth. “No, I did not hit my head! While you all have been sitting around, carrying on like children with _games_ , _we_ were once again facing certain death after one of those Vault aliens took us captive. They let me go, but Fiona! She wasn’t with me, so I _know_ they still have-”

He stopped short when he heard chuckling. Blood rushed to his temples as he slowly turned and fixated on the source: Sasha. Through clenched teeth, he said, “What is so damn funny?”

“Nothing,” Sasha said. “Go on. Really.”

“You think this is a joke? I can’t believe you! I think I’m about to puke here, and you’re laughing?”

“Rhys?”

The blood in his temples ran cold when he heard his name, spoken in a soft voice, barely above a whisper. He turned slowly from Sasha, his eyes wide as though he’d taken a shotgun blast to the gut.

“F-Fi?” he said, his gaze meeting the familiar green of hers. There Fiona stood in a shadowy doorway near the poker table, frozen in a similar state of shock.

Sasha let loose a burst of laughter she was holding back. Gortys smiled, while Loader Bot’s eye roved.

Fiona moved first, rushing forward towards Rhys as Sasha had before. She slowed as she neared, her face unreadable as she stared up at him. Then, when her lip began to quiver, she closed the distance, wrapping her arms around him as she pressed her cheek against his waterlogged jacket. He returned the embrace, almost reflexively.

Sasha’s laughter faded. “Aww, sis. See? Even aliens don’t want anything to do with an idiot like him.”

Rhys rolled his eyes. “Gee, thanks.” He looked down over Fiona’s hat. Brushing his fingers over her shoulder blade, he said, “I’m glad you’re safe. I thought I’d left you behind.”

“Me, too,” he heard her croak out.  His focus darted about as he began to panic.   _Was she crying?_

“Uh, guys?  How long was I, um, gone?” Rhys asked. “This isn’t making any sense.”

“Four minutes, two hours, and seven days,” Loader Bot said.

“Seven? Days? Whole days?” Rhys repeated back in horror.

Sasha frowned. “And Fiona was gone for about half that time. She was about as distraught when she learned you weren’t here.”

Rhys looked down again at Fiona. “Fi,” he said. When she did not respond, he said, “I’m sorry. I am so sorry.” He tightened his embrace. Strangely, in that moment, he remembered the Vault. How warm and whole he felt just after they opened that strange chest. _Why am I thinking about that right now?_

Suddenly, he felt Fiona struggle. When he loosened his hold, she then shoved him back. “Hey!” he said.

“Where have you been?” Fiona spat. She appeared even more threatening with her eye make-up smeared. “Why did you stay behind?”

“Stay behind? I didn’t ‘stay behind’. The last thing I remember was having that weird, icky, ugly son of a bitch send us _both_ back to Pandora! But apparently not at the same time.”

“Your shoulder,” Fiona said. “You were stabbed.”

Gortys gasped.

Rhys paused to check his left shoulder. The clothing was torn, but the wound he suffered had disappeared. Not even a scar remained. “Oh. Wow. How about that.” He rotated his shoulder to be sure.

“Yeah. How about that,” Fiona said, crossing her arms.

“I don’t know what happened after, Fiona. If anything. Do you really think I’d want to be stuck there without you?”

She averted her gaze, slumping her shoulders. It alarmed him that she looked so worn, tired. “No.”

A pregnant pause ensued. _Wasn’t expecting that,_ Rhys thought.

“Hey,” Sasha said gently. “Why don’t you two take it easy. Get some sleep. You can kill each other in the morning if you still want to.”

Fiona turned, wandering to the poker table. “Yeah. That sounds good.” She picked up her cards, taking one last glance at her hand. “Wasn’t that a great of a hand, anyway.”

Her flat affect alarmed Rhys, who turned to Sasha. She answered him with a shrug. He could not help but worry as she retreated around the corner of the doorway she had emerged from.

“She was really worried about you,” Sasha said to him once her footsteps faded.

“Hey.”

The group turned to see Vaughn step in from the rain. He smirked at Rhys and said, “So...still need me to rally the troops?”

“Shut up,” Rhys said. “I’m going to go dry off.”

“‘Kay. Hey, what are you guys playing?” Vaughn said, approaching the table. “Oh! Deal me in. I’m going to rob you guys blind.”

“But I don’t want to be blinded…” Gortys protested. Loader Bot looked up sharply.

“It’s just a figure of, uh-”

“Great! You can take Fiona’s place!” Sasha said, crossing over to her chair. “See you in the morning, Rhys.”

Rhys returned an annoyed grunt as he turned away, his friends’ voices melding into a din as he exited back out and into the rain. His socks felt _so_ gross.


	3. Her Side

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the comments and kudos so far, and your patience as I cobble this vague idea together.  
> I called the town New Helios as I don't remember if they named the refugee settlement in TFTBL, hope that's not weird  
> Hope to have the next chapter done in a few days

The darkness receded. She shielded her eyes with her arm to adjust better to the sudden light, hissing when the movement aggravated some awful injury embedded in her lower back. The swirls and smudges of color coalesced into a ceiling, made up of strips and patches of rusted sheet metal riveted together.

As she contemplated where she was, her answer came as a frantic rumble of footsteps before Sasha’s face appeared in her view.

“Fiona? Fiona!”

“Hey, Sasha,” Fiona mumbled, somewhat alarmed by how raspy she sounded.

“Thank goodness!” Sasha fell over her in an embrace.

Fiona swallowed with some difficulty, her throat parched. Sasha, ever on the ball, moved to grab a canteen from a nearby nightstand and offered it to her. Fiona sat up, wincing as she did so, but wasted no time draining the container.

“How are you feeling?” Sasha asked.

Wiping her mouth, Fiona said, “Ow.”

Sasha took back the canteen from her, saying, “Yeah, you were laying on a rock when we found you. Didn’t look very comfortable.”

“That figures.”

Sasha narrowed her eyes, examining her for a pause. “Since you don’t seem to be brain damaged, let me ask you something.”

“Shoot.”

Sasha narrowed her eyes. “What the hell happened?”

Fiona breathed deep. “Right.” She blinked, her mind sluggish. The sequence of events were scattered about like puzzle pieces. Her fingers pinched the bridge of her nose. What the hell did happen? “Well, I guess it started when we opened a box in the Vault.”

“I can’t believe you guys went in without us, by the way.”

“We earned our dibs.”

“Yeah, okay.”

The puzzle reformed, and the timeline sharpened. “Anyway, we opened the box. I don’t know what Rhys and I were expecting to find in there. Don’t think we really cared. We just knew we made it. Made it to the end.” Fiona’s hand - and her gaze - fell to her lap.

“And then? What was inside?”

Fiona looked up, scanning the ceiling as she searched for the words. “Hard to describe.”

“Try.”

“It was nothing. But a nice nothing? Really nice. Cozy.”

Sasha’s face fell. “A cozy feeling? That’s what we risked our lives for?”

“That doesn’t really describe it well enough. I felt whole, in a way I’ve never felt, Sasha, and I think I’m mourning it a little since it was cut short.”

“Cut short? By Rhys?”

Fiona snorted. “No. Oh, yeah. Then an alien snatched us. It looked like the ones we saw in the Traveler.”

“Oh my god.”

“Uh-huh. It wasn’t happy with us. We basically killed its dog, which also happened to have all its friends inside.”

“Wow.”

“But we persuaded it, naturally, to let us go. How is Rhys doing, by the way?”

Sasha averted her eyes. “Well, um-,”

“Oh, she’s awake!”

Fiona and Sasha looked to the doorway to find Vaughn, arms crossed and smiling. “That’s good. Because you were out, and I mean out. Like, drooling-all-over-yourself out.”

“Fiona!” The distinctly sweet, childlike voice of Gortys called to her, and the little robot rolled out between Vaughn’s legs into the room.

“Hey,” Fiona said.  
“You okay?”

“Never better.”

“I’m so glad you’re alive!” Gortys said, flashing her robotic smile. She rotated between Sasha and Vaughn. “Maybe she knows where Rhys is?”

Vaughn sighed. Sasha shushed Gortys, and the latter retreated, face flashing to sad eyes and a squiggly mouth.

Fiona sat up straighter, her heart quickening. “What about Rhys? Wasn’t he with me?”

“Well, no,” Sasha admitted.

Vaughn added, ““Sasha, August, and I searched the whole fricken canyon after we found you. The bluffs, too. Search parties are scanning the area everyday for activity now that the Vault is there, but we’ve yet to find any sign of him.”

“Fiona!”

Fiona leaped from the bed in an instant. Her stiff muscles protested, and her first few steps were limps and stumbles. Vaughn, surprised by her sudden movement, did nothing to block her as she squeezed past him and out into the halls of the base. She heard Sasha call, but a burst of energy flooded her body and fueled her momentum forward, and broke into a harried jog when she made it outside. Car. Need a car. Looking up, she adjusted her bearings towards the tall post advertising New Helios’ digistruct station.

“Fiona, stop!”

At the shrill sound of her name, she stopped short just as she entered the station. Over her shoulder, she replied, “He’s still out there!”

Sasha sprinted to catch up with her, with Vaughn jogging close behind. When Sasha stopped, she doubled-over, gasping for breath. After several gulps of air, she said, “You just woke up! Take it, ha, easy, okay? Let’s talk about this.”

“Talk about what?” Fiona said sharply.

“I’m worried about him, too, but this is pointless. We don’t have any leads except for a worthless Vault that won’t let anyone in!”

“Huh?” Fiona said, spinning around.

“You guys broke it or something. When we noticed you guys were gone, we tried going in looking for the both of you,” Sasha said. “But it just spat us right back out.”

“Not us,” Fiona said, shaking her head. “Not me.”

Vaughn said, “That is true. Ow!”

Sasha backhanded his arm. “Don’t agree with her! She might not come back if she goes in this time!”

Rubbing where Sasha struck him, Vaughn said to Fiona, “What else do you think you’ll find?”

Fiona dropped her chin, sighing. “I don’t know.” She resumed her stride, lifting her hand and smacking against the digistruct console. “But I can’t stay here. I have to see for myself.”

“Hey!” Sasha snatched Fiona by her wrist as the latter began to hoist herself into the technical that formed on the digistruct platform. “I can’t let you just...disappear again! What if it isn’t days this time, huh? What if it’s weeks? Years? Never?”

“Let go of me,” Fiona said. “I have to try. Please.”

“And what if you do get abducted again? Are you seriously planning to fight those aliens by yourself?”

“Yes, god damn it!” Fiona shouted. At that, Sasha released her and jumped back, startled by the force of her statement. Fiona continued, “Yes, I am, if that’s what it takes. I hear you, Sasha, but...he’s my family. Our family. I’ll figure it out. I’ll get him back!”

Vaughn smiled. Sasha, on the other hand, huffed and pursed her lips.

Fiona’s face fell, pleading. “We took on a Vault monster together, Sash. Don’t you think I can handle this?”

When Sasha refused to look her in the eye, Vaughn said, “I’ll come out with you. You may need the backup. Bandit incidents have been increasing thanks to the rumors of an open Vault here. Like moths to a flame, if the moths also carried shotguns.”

“I’m coming, too,” Sasha said suddenly.

With Fiona and Sasha in one technical, and Vaughn in another, they raced from the gates of New Helios and navigated the lava-veined hillsides. They descended into the canyon on a slope cut through the bluffs, where Fiona caught the first glimpse of the Vault’s characteristic arch and heavenly light. The light, she noted, had waned since the day she stood mere steps from it with Rhys. Her foot grew heavier on the gas pedal.

Except for their own trails, the sand in the canyon was flat and undisturbed, and thus the worry about bandits receded in her mind. She stopped and parked the technical several meters from the Vault entrance.

“I can never get over how beautiful it is,” Sasha said, tilting her head back. “Even if it is a little scary up close.”

“Yeah,” Fiona said flatly. The gravel crunched under her feet when she hopped down from the driver’s side. Vaughn killed the engine of his technical and joined her.

“How long do you think we should wait here?” he asked.

“You should leave by nightfall if we’re not back by then,” Fiona said. She looked down when Sasha’s hand gripped hers.

“You sure you’re ready? Seriously, you just got up.”

Fiona’s pistol appeared from her sleeve with a click. She gripped its cool metal. “I’m good.” Slipping from Sasha, she stepped forward, preparing her mind with measured breaths. Even if an innumerable horde of those aliens greeted her on the other side, she was ready.

She closed her eyes when the Vault’s light tickled her skin, enveloping her as it did the first time, sucking her into its distorted reality. Then within moments, the light receded, and she felt the ground again beneath her feet.

“Oh, no,” she heard. Sasha?

Fiona’s eyes popped open. They stung with tears when the first thing she saw were Sasha and Vaughn, each giving her a look of sympathy.

“No!” Fiona said, glancing about, looking for any evidence that this was a trick-- any anomaly in the bluffs, any warped feature in the landscape her mind could seize on. When she found nothing, she spun around, baring her teeth as she gazed up once more at the Vault. She heard Sasha call her name again, but she was already leaping through the portal once more. Once more, she landed on the canyon soil, a puff of dust rising from under her shoes.

“I knew it,” Sasha said. “Sis, that’s enough.”

Fiona turned again toward the Vault. What is wrong? She trembled as she stepped back from it-- her chest brimming with anger, fear, both. She clenched her fists, tamping down her panic with several deep breaths, then charged once more through the Vault.

Only to nearly trip over herself when the Vault turned her back out.

Fiona howled. The tortured sound echoed along the canyon bluffs, and she cared little when Vaughn gestured frantically at her to keep the noise down. Nonetheless, she covered her mouth, not to stifle a yell, but a sudden throb of despair. She remembered standing there, registering only the sensation of Sasha wrapping her arms around her shoulders, then a light pressure on her bruised back guiding her to the vehicle. If Sasha said anything, she didn’t listen.

 

* * *

 

Then - days later - there he was, frantic and possessed, the haunting orange of his eye fixed upon her.

She tipped backward, resting obliquely across the bed. It was little more than a odd-smelling sleeping bag on box springs, and it groaned under her weight. She heaved a sigh, her eyes tracing the haphazard seams of the ceiling.

He’s alive. What a jerk.

Above, muffled voices and laughter swelled and receded. Her stomach knotted. She didn’t want to sleep anymore. The shock to her system still lingered. Nonetheless, her eyes drifted closed. The cool, humid breeze flowing in from the nearby window lulled her somewhat.

The next thing she knew, she was bolting upright when a sharp rap came at the door.

“Sis? You sleeping?”

Fiona pinched and pulled down the brim of her hat. “Not anymore.”

The door cracked open. “Can I come in?”

When Fiona didn’t answer, rusty hinges creaked, and the door slid open just enough for Sasha to slip inside. She pushed the door closed and leaned against it.

“What do you want, Sasha?” Fiona said, sighing.

“Just, um, seeing how you’re doing.”

“I’m fine.”

Sasha frowned. “No, you’re not.”

Fiona shrugged.

“I don’t get it. You were so distraught. Now, you seem a little bothered by the fact that he came back.”

Fiona dropped her gaze.

Sasha pressed, “What is going on? What else happened in there?”

Fiona bit her lip, rising from the bed. She went to the window and leaned against the frame. The rain abated to a light drizzle. The fresh smell soothed her, as did the rippling pools that had collected on the myriad tin roofs of the myriad hovels below. A breeze tousled her red-streaked bangs.

Sasha pushed from the door, following to sit on the other side of the bed, facing her.

Finally, Fiona said, “Honestly, I’m not sure. I told you about the box, and what was inside the box.”

“Oh yeah. The nice, cozy feeling.”

Fiona hesitated. “I felt it again just now.”

“Just now? Like just now?”

Fiona averted her eyes. “More like when, uh, he was, um, hugging me.” When she caught Sasha blinking at her out of the corner of her eye, she added, “Stupid, right?”

Another silence hung in the air as Sasha pondered the situation with a severe expression. Then, she spoke.

“So the Vault...gave you a boyfriend?”

Fiona flinched as if the question were a surprise blow to the gut. Stunned, she turned from the window. “What?”

Sasha studied the floor, mired in thought. She shook her head. “I mean, Rhys? Of all the eligible bachelors in the universe?”

“I don’t know if it’s like that-,”

“Well, I guess he’s not so bad, really. He’s not nearly as useful as guns or money, but he can be sweet when he wants to.”

“Will you stop?”

Fiona pulled off her hat and, with a flick of her wrist, she tossed it at her sister. Sasha caught it, smiling as she then spun it on her forefinger. “Nope, never. I mean, finally.” Her eyes widened with her emphasis.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Sasha stood from the bed, leaving the hat behind on it. As she made her way to the door, she said, “You should talk about it with him in the morning. If you don’t, then I will.”

Fiona huffed. “Let’s not make this a big deal. Please.”

Sasha stopped. “I know. It doesn’t seem like a big deal, but it’s hard to think about, let alone talk. But chances are he’s worried about what you’re thinking.”

Fiona rotated just enough to peer again out the window. “I guess.”

Sasha resumed her stride, her hand reaching for the door. “Sleep on it. And let me know what happens!” she said, winking at her before slipping back out.

Fiona smiled at her sister’s expression, but as the door closed, she sighed. She was doing the latter a lot lately, and continued to do so well into the night.


	4. Captain Uglypants

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a brief installment-- figured why not release it  
> Anticipating the next bit to be a bit lengthier anyway  
> Thanks for reading this far!

Upon arriving in his cabin, Rhys began to unfasten his jacket, but paused as he started to peel off the garment. Sand chafed between his armpits and legs, and he sighed, throwing the sleeve back over his shoulder. His sore muscles and mild body odor persuaded him further.

“Guess a bath wouldn’t be a bad idea,” he mused to himself.

A communal luxury, baths and showers were installed outdoors. A simple, sloped roof supported by twin posts sheltered the nearest hut, comprised of a one bath, one shower, an electric pump, and a hamper of drying rags. With the settlement still being pelted by rain, Rhys resumed doffing his dripping garments as he approached. He wrenched the jacket from his wrist and tossed it - followed by his undershirt and trousers - onto a large nail embedded in one of the posts nearest to the tub.

Bath tubs in New Helios consisted of a barrel bolted onto a heating element, with a spigot drilled in near its bottom. A water pipe from the nearby pump snaked over the side of the barrel brim. Rhys switched on the heating element, also causing a bright, red signal light on the roof to switch on-- a courtesy to indicate the bath was occupied. As Rhys turned the valve on the pipe’s head, he pretended not to see the faded biohazard etching on the barrel’s side.

With crossed arms, he leaned over the barrel’s lip as groundwater spurted from the pipe, his brow knitted. _I hope she’s not still upset tomorrow._ He sighed. _But she’s always upset with me._ His features relaxed when he thought of the Vault. _Well, maybe not always._

He cut the water flow as the level neared the brim. With his human hand, he tested the water, then hoisted himself over. He emitted a long, earth-shaking sigh as he sank into the water and the soothing heat penetrated through his muscles. Filth and tension melted away from his skin.

The moment of bliss was just that-- a moment.

“Hello?”

Rhys grunted at the voice, distorted and unfamiliar. He glanced around for its source, the hapless soul who would face his wrath for disturbing him.

He saw no one. _Swore I heard that._ Nonetheless, he shrugged, closing his eyes and propping his arms around the brim of the barrel.

“Testing, testing. You, Subject!”

_God damn it._ Rhys’s eyes popped open, his artificial eye a smoldering orange. He whipped his head around, saying, “Who’s there?” When there was no response, no movement, he said, “You know what? I don’t care. Just go away!”

Suddenly, his artificial arm glowed a deep purple. A yelp burst from Rhys’ lips. He shook his arm in vain, as if the random, indecipherable runes that covered his metal arm would somehow slough off with the hot water. “Oh my god! What in the, the hell!”

The voice said, “Excellent. It’s working. I can now observe you in your natural habitat.”

“Observe? Who is this?” In a whimper, “And why me?”

“Your mind was much better prepared than the other. And you didn’t have the spear to my neck.”

“You’re the-! That’s low. I didn’t agree to this!”

“You wanted me to release you, and this was the condition.”

“No, thank you! I’ve had enough of voices in my head for one lifetime, okay?” Rhys shouted.

“Rhys? Is that you over there?”

“Shit!” Rhys hissed, dunking his glowing arm into the water. In the next instant, he snatched the sleeve of his jacket hanging from the nail. His undershirt and trousers tumbled to the ground as he wrapped his artificial arm up in the black cloth.

“Who are you talking to?” The red light illuminated Vaughn, who approached the bath hut under a wide umbrella.

“Just uh, thinking out loud!” Rhys said, flashing him a weak smile.

Vaughn folded the umbrella as he stepped beneath the roof. “Sorry to interrupt, then, but I just wanted to be sure you’re actually okay.” He smiled and said, “You seem like you might be few cannibals short of a Pandoran stew.”

Rhys glanced at the bath tub and said, “Ha, ha. I get it. Thanks, but I’m juuust fine. Not all that used to being abducted by aliens, though.”

“Wasn’t my fault!” Rhys heard inside his ear. He shook his head.

“I can imagine. Sucks that the Vault didn’t give you anything cool,” Vaughn said.

Rhys’ face fell. “Yeah. I’ll say.”

“The opposite, in fact. Both you and Fiona seem worse off since you went in.”

“Won’t argue with that.” He felt an odd tingle at his shoulder joint.

"You want to talk about it?"  Vaughn asked.

Rhys sighed.  “Listen, can we go over this in the morning? I’m really, uh, tired.”

Vaughn shrugged. “Right. Okay.  Just thought I'd try being a friend and all.” His brow furrowed. “Is that your jacket?”

Rhys cleared his throat. “Yeah? Uh, so?”

“Why do you look like you’re drowning it?”

“Uh, it was dirty, too? I’m, uh, being efficient with my laundry!”

Vaughn rolled his eyes. “Uh-huh. Like that isn’t weird.” He shifted as he regarded Rhys, crossing his arms. “I hope it’s just the exhaustion, and not the aliens having touched you in the head.” Vaughn then turned, popping open the umbrella. “Guess we’ll know by tomorrow. I’ll see you then.”

“Yeah, tomorrow. Goodnight!” Rhys called.

The voice said, “Subject, why did you hide your arm from him? Don’t you trust him?”

Rhys waited until he could no longer see the red light reflecting off of the receding umbrella, then unwrapped his arm. “I do, but the truth is too insane for me to verbalize right now.”

“Speaking of which, you know this is pretty much telepathy,” the voice said. “You don’t have to speak out loud.”

_Oh._

“Yeah.”

_This is...this is so much more convenient. You have no idea._

“I have some idea, Subject. I’ve already catalogued your recent memories.”

Rhys grunted. _Then you know what happened to the last guy who set up shop in my head?_

A pause. “Your human politics and squabbles are insignificant to me. I do not intend to interfere with your decisions. I simply wish to discover why the anomaly responded to feeble creatures such as you and your mate.”

_She’s not my-! Ugh, forget it._ Rhys rose from the bath water, no longer enjoying its soothing qualities. _So once you’ve figured things out, you’ll leave me alone?_

“Once I have sufficient findings, yes. I will observe your interactions with Subject 2, and with the anomaly.”

He toggled the switch on the heating element. _Subject 2? Her name is Fiona, and she is not gonna go for this. Our interaction is going to consist of her putting a bullet in my brain once she discovers that I’m possessed by the same alien who tried to murder us!_

“She is violent, unreasonable?”

Rhys chuckled as he turned the spigot. The bath water began to drain from the barrel. _Wow. Even after scanning my memories, you clearly don’t know her like I do._

“Then tell me.”

Rhys blinked. _Why?_

“The more you impede my research, the longer I stay.”

_Point taken. Alright, then, let’s see._ Rhys collected himself as he wandered over to the hamper, grabbing up a dry rag. As he toweled himself, he began:  _She’s smart. Always a few steps ahead. Guess she had to be to survive on Pandora. I used to think she was just passionate about money, but it turns out she’s even more passionate about her family. She’s incredible, really. Whether it’s bandits, corporate assholes, or aliens, there’s no one I’d rather have in my corner. And while her sister’s cute and all, Fiona’s just…_ He fixated on the next word on his mind. It sobered him like a splash of cold water.

_Beautiful._

“You don't sound like a man truly in fear for his life.”

He rolled his eyes. _Look._ _She’s a badass, and I respect the badass. And you should, too. Yeah, I’m keeping this a secret until I can gather up my own data about this mess._

“Suit yourself. As I said, I am merely an observer.”

_Good for you, then. What do they call you on planet...whatever, anyway?_

An infernal noise entered Rhys’ mind. He dropped the rag as he instinctively clapped his hands over his ears.  When the noise receded, the voice said, “That is what they call me.”

Rhys straightened, rubbing a hand over eyes. _Your ‘name’ sounds like a skag barfing up rusty hinges, just so you know._

“That’s rather rude.”

Rhys grabbed another dry rag from the hamper. _How about something I can pronounce?_

“And that’s mildly xenophobic of you, Subject.”

_Xeno-what? I can’t believe I’m saying - uh, thinking this, but you made more sense when you were speaking shitty Pandoran._

“You mean when I was talkin’ atcha like this, ya’ll?”

He shuddered. _Nope, nevermind, I take it back._

“If you insist, Subject.”

He paused in the midst of drying his legs. _Stop calling me-! You know what? You’re ugly, I don’t appreciate your being here, I don’t appreciate you ‘observing’ me, and I don’t appreciate you calling me that! Captain Uglypants, that’s what I’m gonna call you! How do you like that?_

“Eh.”

_Really?_ His eyes darted side to side.

“Fine. Whatever moniker amuses you most.”

Rhys smiled as he wrapped his waist with the rag. _Okay, Uglypants._ He snickered to himself. Then, he yawned. _Hope you’ve steeled yourself for a couple of hours of me sawing some wood. Sure to be very enlightening. Wait, are you going to watch me while I sleep? Ick, I don’t know if I can now._

“I could observe even your dreams if I wanted to, but no, I believe that concludes my note-taking for now. I shall leave you to your sawing. However, your appendage will still be collecting data for me in the background. I’ll resume direct observation once you have rested.”

Then, just as suddenly as the runes came to life, they darkened and vanished from the chrome of Rhys’ metal arm. At the same time, a hum in his mind receded, and the ensuing silence provided some dubious evidence that privacy had returned to his thoughts.

“Great,” he sighed aloud, glancing down at his artificial hand. He then clenched his fist, hoping that Captain Uglypants wasn’t listening, because he was thinking. He was thinking of a plan. Good plan, painful plan.


	5. It Gets Weird

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fri-day Up-day
> 
> Even if this fic ends up sucking, I hope it's at least kinda funny
> 
> Enjoy

_So...the Vault gave you a boyfriend?_

Her sister’s words lodged in her mind like a stubborn thorn. She had to admit, Rhys was on Fiona’s mind a lot since then, and it annoyed her. Worse, the absurdity of the idea should have been enough to deny it, but the spike burrowed deeper the more she tried to pull it out.

Since Loader Bot forced them to set the record straight, her opinion of Rhys evolved from loathing to a begrudging respect. He genuinely cared about the friends he’d made, and even found room in his heart to grant mercy to his former enemies. He, too, made difficult choices. His choice to trust her over Jack’s ghost hung foremost in her mind.

With quick swipes of her hand, she smoothed her hair and clothes. Wrapped in all the absurdity lay a small truth: he wasn’t so bad.

_Chances are he’s worried about what you think._

“We shall see,” Fiona said. She applied her hat, securing it with a gentle twist, then opened her door to a bright sunrise.

Much of New Helios still slept, the placid quiet only broken by the distant screeches of rakks. The central base, too, seemed deserted-- save for the half-awake sentries who nodded vaguely to her as she passed. As she continued through the main hall, however, her ears picked up familiar voices bouncing off the walls.

“Patrols are gettin’ antsy about their shifts, and I don’t blame ‘em.”

“We’ll shorten them, and increase the number for now.”

She rounded the corner. Vaughn, flanked by August and Loader Bot, poured over a topographic ECHOmap generated across a wide table. The ominous red splotches that dotted the holograph drew Fiona's concern as well.

“I think we need to think about taking them by surprise instead,” August said.

Vaughn looked up first. “Morning, Fiona. Sleep okay?”

“Alright.” Fiona gestured as she approached the table. “What’s this?”

“Bandit attacks reported within the past week,” August said.

“They are encroaching on New Helios,” Loader Bot added.

August crossed his arms. “It ain’t a huge problem now, but it’s a drain on our supplies and equipment. We gotta thin ‘em out. If this gets worse, we may have to think about curfews. Or maybe even pullin’ up stakes.”

“As a last resort, and one I hope it isn’t necessary. But even if we find and clear out their encampments, more will just recolonize. It’s being so close to an active Vault that’s the problem,” Vaughn said, pointing to its marker on the map.

Fiona cleared her throat, drawing the attention of those present. “Say, Vaughn. You can probably guess what I’m about to ask you.”

Vaughn smiled. “Haven’t seen him. Probably still passed out.”

“Oh yeah, Mister Atlas. Sasha tells me he made quite an entrance last night,” August said, chuckling.

Loader Bot’s eye rotated in its socket. “He was, as you say, pants-on-head.”

“You don’t think the aliens do the whole body-snatching thing, do you?” August asked.

“Then I suppose I’m an impostor, too?” Fiona asked wryly.

August shrugged. “Wouldn’t be the first time you were accused as such.”

“Fair point. But no, you can relax. I’m me, and there’s no way the raving lunatic last night wasn’t Rhys.”

“I second that,” Vaughn said, raising a finger. “We should probably check on him, though. Why don’t we pick this back up later?”

August waved his hand, throwing a _tiff_ over his shoulder before recessing from the chamber. Loader Bot, however, approached Fiona, raising his golden hand to place it on her shoulder. The stitches in her brow deepened when he said, “He will be fine.”

“Huh?” she said.

Loader Bot stepped back from her. “I understand his feelings. Parallels, baby.”

“Okay…”

“Come on.” Vaughn deactivated the ECHOmap as he moved from the table. Fiona excused herself with nod to Loader Bot before following along. When she caught up, Vaughn said, “Body-snatching aside, I hope Rhys is more like himself today. We’re going to need you two sharp if we’re going to figure out what to do about the Vault. We can’t just wait around for bandits to nibble us to death. Or another giant to come out of it.”

“I don’t know, Vaughn,” Fiona said, accompanying him. “I can’t say I have any good theories at the moment.”

“I’m not worried. You and Rhys are good at these things,” Vaughn said.

“What do you mean?”

“You know, the badass stuff. Besides, you’re the closest we have to experts on the Vault, anyway.”

She smiled. “Thanks, I think.” She then glanced over, giving Vaughn a quick scan. “Speaking of being nibbled to death, I see you still kept all of your clothes.”

Vaughn knitted his brow, then grinned. “Oh, heh. I held my own, thank you.”

“I’m genuinely surprised. Sasha’s a real shark.”

“I think Sasha’s mind games found their match in my passion for statistical probability.”

Fiona quirked a brow. “Don’t tell me you were counting cards.”

“Lies, damned lies. Wasn’t like we were playing blackjack.”

“Uh-huh.”

Vaughn shrugged. “It didn’t matter, anyway. LB kept raising, then folding as soon Sasha and I tapped out, so Gortys ended up raking it all in. I caught on after about the third time he managed that. Hard to be mad when Gortys was so proud of herself.”

Fiona chuckled. “They really are cute. I’m glad you enjoyed yourselves.”

“And despite our certain tall, lanky missing person returning from the void. None too soon, either. You guys went in before, so you have got to be the solution to all this.”

“Yeah,” Fiona said, her gaze falling to the ground.

“That didn’t sound good. You still upset with him?”

“Not upset. Just confused.”

“That makes two of us. I’m sure you’re relieved, too, though.”

Fiona stopped. Vaughn noticed a second later, and turned towards her. “What’s up?”

“Would you-,” she started, looking away. “Would you mind if I spoke with him alone first?”

Vaughn regarded her for a moment, then sighed, saying, “Yeah. Okay.”

“Sorry.”

“No worries, I get it. Cabin’s at the end of this catwalk. Try not to take too long.” His brow waggled with that last remark. “We’ll see you at the base you’re ready.”

“Uh, thanks.”

Fiona continued past him, the metal grates and welded strips shuddering and clanging under her footfalls. She slowed as she neared Rhys’ cabin door, seized by a sudden weight dropping into her gut. Twisting, she glanced back at Vaughn, the latter raising a fist at her in encouragement. She nodded, turning to advance the last few steps. Pausing at the door to listen at first, she then rapped her knuckles against it.

“Rhys? You in there? It’s Fiona.”

A burst of shuffling came from behind the door, as if she had disturbed a spiderant burrow. The noise was followed by, “Fi? Ah, shit. H-hang on!”

Fiona crossed her arms. “Let me guess. You’re getting decent?”

“Sure! Something like that.”

“Hurry it up.”

More shuffling ensued, punctuated with thumping and footsteps. She rolled her eyes when she heard, “Actually, could you come back later? I’m not going to be decent anytime soon.”

“You know that does nothing to assure me you’re not up to something suspicious in there.”

“Just, please?”

Fiona jiggled the handle, but it resisted her. “We need to talk. Now. Open up, or I pick the lock.”

“Oh my god, _okay_ ,” he replied. “Give me one damned second.”

A second took about thirty more. Fiona tapped her foot, then eyed the red light above the door handle. She jiggled it again, slow and deliberate. That was when the light turned green, and the door flew open. Rhys appeared, leaning against the left side of the door frame, his features severe and devoid of any amusement. He was sans jacket, with a tank clinging loosely over his torso. It took no small measure of willpower to resist her fascination with the intricate tattoos that covered his left shoulder.

Her attention, though, was soon drawn to his opposite arm, which hung limply at his side. It was wrapped tightly in rags, from finger to shoulder. The seam between flesh and metal at the joint was loose, with bundles of wiring exposed to the light.

Rhys stepped to the side, allowing her in. He picked up on her concern, saying, “Just doing a little um, maintenance? Before I was so rudely interrupted, anyway.”

“I don’t actually have my lockpick tools with me,” she said, not bothering to conceal a smirk.

Rhys grunted. “You got me, so what’s the rush?” he asked, shutting the door behind her.

Fiona said pointedly, “Are we just going to forget what happened? Or can we talk about it while we can still remember it clearly?”

That seemed to cow him, and he said, “Alright. Which part? Not sure if I can really add to what you already know,” he said. Holding up his left hand, he added, “For the record, I did not intentionally stay behind. I could very well say that you left me behind.”

Hesitant, she said, “I know.” She swallowed a lump that formed in her throat. Maybe this was a mistake.

“Then, what?”

Fiona glanced about the room. Rhys’ cabin was quaint and minimally furnished, like hers. A screwdriver and pliers rested on the nightstand next to a bed very much like hers. “Has anything...changed for you since we got back?”

For a brief second, Rhys’ eyes went wide. He cleared his throat saying, “In what way, exactly?”

“I’m not exactly sure, and I can’t tell if it’s because of the Vault, or alien influence…or maybe none of the above.”

“Has something changed for you?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”

“Well, I can’t say it wasn’t completely rakkshit scary. I’m still a little shook up. That could account for something, too,” he said. He moved for the bed, his weight landing heavily as he seated himself. The springs creaked, like the ones in her room.

She quirked a brow when he gestured for her to sit as well.

“Like I’d try any funny business. I know you’re armed and dangerous,” he said.

“Try not to sound so sarcastic next time,” she said, but with a smile she relented, coming to perch on the edge.

He chuckled, his expression softening. “I’m quite serious,” he said, shifting to give her more room.

She studied him for a pause. Longer than she intended, perhaps, for the amusement in Rhys’ expression faded and he said, “What’s gotten into you, Fi?”

She turned her gaze to the floorboards. Here we go. “What did you feel after you opened the box with me?”

Rhys tilted back on the bed, pursing his lips in thought. He then said, “Nice. Peaceful. Kind of like I’d died and gone to heaven.”

“Yeah,” Fiona said, sighing.

“You?”

“Pretty much describes it.” She looked over to him, studying his nose, his jaw, and up to his piercing eye. “I actually can’t get over it. I’ve never felt like that before.”

“It was pretty wonderful,” His eyes caught hers. “Even if it did result in yet another near-death experience.”

“Nothing we couldn’t handle, right?”

“Right. Sorry if I embarrassed you, by the way. I’m glad you’re okay.”

Something about the intensity of his stare sparked her courage, and she said, “I want to try something. But it’s going to be weird for you. And for me.”

“Okay.”

“Really weird.”

He didn’t blink. “Noted.”

She leaned forward, feeling him tense as she drew her arms around his shoulders. He didn’t resist, however, when she pressed herself into him.

“F-Fi?” he said, his voice cracking.

“Relax,” she said, though more for her benefit than his. As soon as the warmth and scent of his skin reached her, her self-consciousness hit her like a truck. It was overwhelming. _What is wrong with me?_

The light pressure of his left hand on her back, however, calmed her turbulent doubts.

“‘Test’, uh-huh, _right_ ,” he said. “I knew you digged me.”

“Shut up. Don’t make this weirder.”

“Whatever you say.”

Shutting her eyes helped her ignore him. In this way, she waited. Whether this was real, or some cosmic magic, she needed to know. She expected that warm feeling to blossom, yet the seconds dragged on. Her patience waned, giving way to her hyper awareness of Rhys’ presence once more. Her grip around him loosened.

“Fiona,” Rhys said, his voice low.

“Didn’t I tell you-,”

“Something _is_ different. Or maybe not. Remember what Ug-er, the ugly alien said about the Vault?”

“That it responds to our imaginations.” She paused. “And our desires.”

“Well, yeah, but that this particular one responds to pairs. Pairs who share a desire. A future.”

Her eyes widened with realization. “Yeah?”

“I’m starting to think think there could be some merit to that.”

The statement stunned her, and Fiona imagined herself a skag in the headlights. She wanted to look him in the eye, but the fear of what she would see kept her still.

Rhys sighed. “Fiona, I-,”

Suddenly, she felt Rhys tense again, and his hand dropped from her back. “Oh, damn it!” he hissed. His hand cupped her shoulder. “Hey, uh, listen. I don’t mean to rush you out, but you’ve gotta go. I’d be happy to help you test... _whatever_ later.”

He pushed her gently, and Fiona pulled back, indignant. “What’s wrong with you all of a sudden?”

“Um, uh, well…” He shot up from the bed, clutching his artificial limb. “My arm is, uh, acting up again. Might be unsafe for you to be here in case it has a bad malfunction, heh.”

“Let’s bring you to Janey, then. Maybe she can help.”

He glanced up at the ceiling. “Ha, no.” She couldn’t tell if he was recalling something or rolling his eyes, and it unsettled her.

Fiona also stood from the bed, smoothing her coat to distract from the unease that settled within her. “Vaughn wants to see us both as soon as possible.”

“Cool. Okay.”

Fiona huffed, a pang of regret seizing her when Rhys refused to look at her. “It was too weird, wasn’t it?”

That got his attention. He said, “No! Look, I’m sorry. Just give me a half hour, tops.”

“You’re not telling me something. I know you, Rhys, and you don’t have much of a poker face.”  The strained bob of his adam’s apple supported her assertion. He took a step back.  She a step forward.  

Then, his expression darkened, and he said, “My arm has an alien jerk called Captain Uglypants living inside it.”

A spurt of laughter burst from Fiona’s lips. “Quit joking.”

“No joke! I swear it!”

“Alright,” she said, exasperated. “Half an hour. Or else I’m back with my lock kit. And I want to hear what’s really going on after we’ve met with Vaughn.”

“Um, right. Sure.”

Rhys released his arm to open the door for her. When Fiona stepped out she said over her shoulder, “Half an hour.”

“Yep!” Rhys called before he shut the door. The green light snapped to red. Fiona remained at his door for a moment, then chuckled to herself. _Captain Uglypants? And this is the guy the Vault thinks I share a destiny with._

Her smile quickly faded as she left his door behind.


	6. Crazy, Stupid, Prolific

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trying to maintain a weekly-ish schedule, but I was out of town this past weekend. Sorry for the delay

_Captain Uglypants, you are the master of timing._

“It was a simple question.”

_Oh yes, and ‘why are you freaking out’ has such a simple answer._

“I detected a spike in your stress levels.”

_Truly, I wonder why that could have been?_

“I am also noting that it seems to be directly proportional with your levels of sarcasm.”

_Anything else you have to share that I couldn’t care less about?_

“My toes are cold.”

Rhys rolled his eyes. He trudged through the dirt lanes of New Helios, grunting as he freed his steps from the drying mud. After throwing on and adjusting his jacket, Rhys patted the handle of his stun baton at his belt. Then, felt for the screwdriver nestled in his left pocket.

“Your reaction corresponded to your contact with Subject 2.”

He grit his teeth. _Or, you know, could be the whole alien presence in my body that I don’t want her anywhere near._

“Where are you going?”

_Thirty minutes is all I need._

“Clarify.”

_Oh, you’ll see._

Sweat beaded on his brow. He wiped his face with his right sleeve as he arrived at the digistruct station. He almost failed to notice the pair of technicians kneeling over the strewn innards of the control console. Rhys lurched to a halt, shoving his artificial hand in his right pocket, though the limb was still wrapped in cloth. “What’s going on here?” he asked.

The technicians barely glanced at him. “What does it look like?” one of them tossed out while applying several hard twists with a spanner. He was older, grizzled. “If yer lookin’ fer a car, you ain’t gettin’ one ‘ere for a while.”

Rhys twisted, surveying the station before saying, “I’m kind of in a hurry. Any spares around?”

The other technician, far younger and wiry, said, “Sorry, sir. Pretty much all of ‘em were called up on patrol.”

“Huh, okay then. Where else can I find a car?”

“Beats me,” the older technician said.

The younger said, “Oh! Maybe the boss can help you.”

Rhys perked up. “And where are they?”

“Turn around!”

“Is this man bothering you two?” a voice called, distinct in its Elpisian accent. Rhys stepped around to see Janey approach.

“Nah, just another bloke lookin’ for a ride. I’m tellin’ ya we oughta hang a sign out front or something,” the older tech said.

“Then go ahead. No one’s stopping you,” Janey replied to him with a shrug. She then nodded toward Rhys, saying, “Hey, Rhys. Looking for a ride?”

“That’s the idea,” he said.

“I’m afraid we can’t help you at the moment. Console’s needin’ a fix after the new security protocols spazzed it. Was puttin’ axles where bumpers needed to be and vice versa. Pain in the arse to remove a heap like that from the platform.”

“Security protocols?”

“That Vaughn fellow? He liked my suggestion that approved citizens should be able to digistruct a car. We can’t just let people scamper off willy-nilly just to get picked off by a bandit.” Suddenly, her countenance grew grim. “Unless you’re a Vault Hunter,” she grumbled.

Rhys swallowed at her sudden change in demeanor. He ventured, “How long is this going to take?”

Just as suddenly, she brightened. “Prob be done in an hour or two, once we’re done testing.”

Rhys thumbed over his pocket with the screwdriver. “I can’t wait that long. Don’t you have anything I can borrow?”

“What do you need to leave for, anyway?”

Rhys avoided eye contact, saying, “I, uh, think I lost something out there yesterday on my way back here. I was so panicked I must not have realized I dropped it! It’s very sentimental. I’ll only need to retrace my steps from the canyon. Back in a jiff!”

Janey folded her arms, regarding him closely. “Right. Well, you’re pretty S-O-L then until this afternoon. I’ve got nothing.”

“Great,” Rhys grumbled. “Thanks, anyway.”

As he finished his statement, a crack and pop from a motor cut through the quiet morning ambiance. Its source approached, the clamor increasing to deafening levels. Rhys glanced toward the exit, but when he turned back to Janey, she had already disappeared in a bustle of footsteps. He, too, followed her outside the station and toward the noise. There Athena, atop a motorbike, rolled to a stop. She killed the motor and popped the kickstand before doffing her helmet and tucking it under her arm.

“Welcome back, dear,” Janey said to her.

“Hey,” she said, smiling.

Rhys politely glanced away as Athena wrapped her other arm around Janey’s waist, inviting the latter to share a kiss. He turned his attention back only when Athena cleared her throat.

“Hi, Athena.” He lengthened the last syllable of her name as his eyes drifted to the bike.

“Hi,” she said, quirking a brow.

“Don’t mind him, love. How’s it looking out there?”

“Could be better. I cleared out a camp only about three klicks outside town.”

“I _told_ you not to do any fighting. You said surveillance only this time!” Janey said, crossing her arms.

“I know, and I’m sorry. But they were too close for me to ignore. We’re up against a trifecta of crazy, stupid, and prolific,” Athena said. She looked to Rhys, saying, “Hopefully, we can finally stop all this nonsense with the Vault now that you’re here.”

Rhys said, “Yep, I’ll get right on that. Listen, can I borrow your bike?”

Athena recoiled as if she spat on him. “Absolutely not.”

“Come on, be an awesome friend?”

Janey stepped in front of him. “Ahem, I built this ride custom to her cute rump,” Janey said. “And it’s not worth your life if you damage it-- because that’s what it’d cost for even a scratch.”

Rhys frowned. He inhaled, sticking out his chest as he mustered all of his pride and self-respect. Then, he cast it all aside. He clasped his hands together and bowed his head. “Ple-hee-hee-ase? I’ll bring it right back!”

Athena continued to stare at him as if he were mad until Janey said, “He’s crushed that he won’t find whatever special trinket he’s got lying in the dust out there with the digistruct station being FUBAR.”

At that, Athena softened. “Here I was looking forward to a bath,” she said, running a hand through her hair and sighing. “What is this trinket? I can go look for it.”

Words flew out of Rhys’ mouth, “No! No. I appreciate it, but it’s, uh, personal. I need to go look for it myself.” He turned, patting the handle of his stun baton. “I’ll be fine! I survived on Pandora longer than anyone ever expected me to, after all.”

“Oh, I see. It’s probably something embarrassing,” Janey said. “Like a diary or something.”

Rhys seized on her assessment. “Right! Embarrassing! Totally and completely humiliating for me!”

Athena said nothing for a pause, then, “You’re so weird.”

“Is that a yes?”

Athena tapped her foot, looking at her bike, then back at him. Then, once more. She relented, saying, “Fine.”

Rhys grinned. His glee disappeared, however, when Athena suddenly reached out and yanked him forward by his collar. She said, “But if you’re not back soon, or if you lose my bike, I will hunt you down out there, and leave your bones to bleach in the Pandoran sun.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Rhys croaked. Athena pushed him back, then handed him her helmet. “Thanks so much.” He threw his leg over the seat and settled forward. The bike tottered precariously, and Rhys darted his hand out to steady it, nearly dropping the helmet in the process. He glanced over to Athena and Janey sheepishly.

“Or I could just skip straight to the killing you part,” Athena offered.

“No need. I got this,” Rhys assured her. He applied the helmet, flipped back the kickstand and hit the ignition. The engine roared to life. He leaned forward, applied gas, and - after a wobbly spurt - left Athena and Janey behind, the latter two narrowly avoiding the spatter of mud kicked up in his wake.

As he sped along the ascending slope leading out of New Helios, the voice in his head spoke. “Your penchant for deception is stunning.”

_Just putting my leftover Hyperion charm to good use._

“Now, what? Was that your grand scheme, Subject?”

Rhys smiled. _That was only Phase One._

“And Phase Two?”

_You’ll find out when we get there._

He zoomed over the crest of the hill, and then descended to ride alongside rivers of lava. The roar and pop of the engine echoed behind him. _This is a nice ride, even if the seat is uncomfortable._ He glanced around at the hostile, craggy landscape. _Can’t believe that just a day before, I was crossing all of this on foot._

_At least Fiona wasn’t hurt. Should have figured._

“How deeply do you care about Subject 2?”

The question felt like a punch to his gut. _What the-...once again, it’s Fiona, and that’s none of your business!_

“Your avoidance of the question lends support to my current hypothesis.”

Rhys growled. _Which is?_

“You not only deceive others - including myself - but you also deceive yourself.”

_What the hell are you talking about?_

“Despite your denial, the Vault recognizes a bond between you and who you refer to as Fiona. I believe that you recognize it as well, but what that implies terrifies your puny intellect.”

_Fascinating. You know, you’d have fit right in with the token shrinks we had up on Helios, and you’d be just as useless._

He descended into the canyon, and the Vault arch grew as he approached. Stopping the bike a few meters from the entrance, he threw the helmet off, then his jacket. Next, he unwound the cloth covering his right arm, its chrome gleaming. Finally, he reached in his pocket for the screwdriver.

“What are you-,”

_Phase Two._

Having learned a lesson from Jack’s last attempt to murder him, his artificial arm could detach from him without rendering him unconscious from pain and blood loss. He wedged the blade between the seam at his shoulder and, pulling the handle side to side, pried apart metal from flesh. The then gently parted the wires in the exposed joint to find the three screw heads he was looking for. He heard a chuckle in his head.

_This amuses you, does it?_

“Certainly. But do go on.”

Rhys hesitated. With a snarl, however, he resumed his efforts, threading the screws, twisting them off, and pocketing them one by one. Next, he gently yanked out the wiring, and his arm swung away from his shoulder. It was a simple task, then, to apply a bit of pressure and snap the rest of it off. Dangling his artificial arm by its hand, he stepped from the bike.

“Final Phase!” he shouted. “I’m sending you back to where you came from!”

Reeling back, he windmilled his detached arm. Then, with a few quick steps forward he lobbed the arm through the portal with an underhand throw. It sailed through the air until the brilliant light of the Vault swallowed it up.

For a few moments, he listened. His mind was silent. “Ha!” His eyes alighted, ecstatic that his idea worked. “I am such a genius,” he said, placing his remaining hand on his waist.

He smiled, even as the light before him flickered, and the arm sailed back out from the portal. Only when its heavy knuckles collided with Rhys square in his left eye socket did his expression disappear. It knocked him from his feet and into unconsciousness.

* * *

 

“Subject. _Subject!_ ”

The voice in Rhys’ head roused him. He sat up while cupping the eye. He winced, hissing when the movement of his eye exacerbate its bruising. When he pulled his hand away slightly, a dusting of pulverized material poured into his palm, and his vision in that eye sputtered and flickered.

_That’s not good._

As he finished his thought, the business end of shotgun barrel appeared in his face.

“That’s not good, either,” the alien said.

_For once, I agree with you._

Rhys slowly raised his left hand in surrender. He shifted, then noticing the weight of his artificial arm laying across his lap. When its alien markings pulsated with purple light, his eyes trailed upwards.

“Hey! Boss!” the bandit shouted beneath his blood red mask, the gun barrels hovering even closer to Rhys’ face. “He’s finally awake!”

“Get ‘im up!” answered him. The baritone voice sounded half human, half robotic. Rhys’ artificial limb clanged to the ground as the bandit, plus one other, grabbed him by the armpit and waistband and hoisted him to his feet. The second bandit slapped Rhys’ shoulder to spin him around, and he stumbled forward when the other bandit prodded him in the kidney with his shotgun.

When he regained his balance, Rhys found himself faced with a bandit technical, with a horde of gun-toting bandits encircling him. Standing from the passenger side of the vehicle, a horror only Pandora could conceive greeted him. Spikes, like those of a skag, rose from scar tissue that blanketed the figure’s scalp and forehead. Goggles with greenish bars across their lenses were embedded over his eyes. Worst of all, the jaw bones of a skag hung from his cheeks as a gruesome replacement for his absent lower jaw. Just below the exposed opening of his throat, a light flickered on the cybernetics installed there. “It’s my lucky day findin’ your Hyperion ass out here.”

As he spoke, a waft of something rotten passed Rhys’ nose. He then noticed a company of black flies buzzing around the bandit leader. He also noticed something else. Despite the nightmarish stench of him and his face, there was something about him that Rhys recognized. “Do I know you?”

“Yeah. You know me. Just like we know you!”

The bandit leader turned. Rhys nearly wretched, and not only because the upper half of a body was strapped to the bandit’s back, but because he recognized the curl of its mustache and the crimson of its eyeliner.

“Finch, wasn’t it?” Rhys said through the fingers of his left hand. He heaved as Finch turned back around.

“Your double-dealin’ tart of a con-woman should have had enough sense to finish the job. Now, you see, she’s gonna pay. We’re gonna take you from her, aren’t we, Kroger?” Finch said, thumbing to the corpse on his back. He then pulled a large, checkered handgun from his waistband and aimed it at Rhys.

“Hey, hey!” Rhys said, holding out his hand. “Look, I’m sorry about what happened. I can make it up to you! I’m the owner of Atlas now. I could hook you and your guys up with some fantastic state-of-the-art tech and gizmos. Can’t do that if I’m dead!”

“I’ve got a better idea. You’re gonna get us what’s in there,” Finch said, gesturing to the Vault with his gun.

“What? I can’t go in there,” Rhys said.

“Stop _lyin’!_ You’ve got some alien shit on that arm of yours, so you’ve got to be the key to all this. So let me tell you what you're gonna do.  You’re gonna march yourself in there, and you’re gonna bring us every single piece of loot you can carry in your scrawny arms. If you try anything stupid, I’ll blow your head off your shoulders. You got me?”

“Crystal,” Rhys said, making slow, deliberate steps to turn around. In the same manner, he stooped to pick up his severed arm. _Hey, Uglypants? Your Subject could use a little help here._

“Must I remind you that I am an observer only? Besides, this is but recompense for your foolish scheming,” the alien responded.

Rhys scoffed. _I will remember that._

“Now, whether the Vault will intervene is a possibility I am very curious about. But if the ruffian does kill you, then I suppose I’ll just find a way to observe Subject 2.”

 _Oh, no. That_ will _be over my dead body!_

The Vault’s light flashed around him as he passed the arch. A split-second later, he found himself still on Pandora, but turned around. However, something had touched his mind in the instant he traveled. A piece of the puzzle fell into place, and his terror at the firing squad before him fell away. The corner of his lip curled upward.

“Aw, man! It’s just like all the others!” a bandit said.

Finch shouted, “I don’t see any loot, chump! I guess I’m gonna have to reorganize that pasty, smug face of yours.” He cocked the hammer of his gun.

“If you do that, you’ll never get what’s inside the Vault,” Rhys said with a wry smile.

“What horseshit are you on about?”

“You need me _and_ Fiona,” Rhys said. “We entered the Vault together before. Only the both of us can do so again!”

Finch considered him for a pause before saying, “I don’t believe you! You’re just throwin’ crap at the wall and hopin’ it’ll stick!”

However, a bandit said, “What if he ain’t wrong, Boss? We tried everything so far.” At that, a murmur rose among the crowd of outlaws.

“Shut up!” Finch shouted, quieting them. Another bout of silence ensued as he pinned Rhys with his stare. Rhys, confident in his argument, stood straighter in response. A chuckle from Finch signaled his change of mood, and he said, “Yeah, okay. If you’re right, then Kroger and I can kill two birds with one stone.” He lifted and holstered his weapon, then dropped into the passenger seat. From around the windshield, he said, “But if you’re wrong, well...we’ll still get two dead birds either way, won’t we? Tie ‘im up and put him in the back.”

The bandits fell upon Rhys, seizing his arm and legs before going about wrapping him in cord. “Hey, easy!” he said, defiant.

He blanched, however, when Finch shouted, “And the bike, too!”


	7. To the Rescue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> itshappening.gif
> 
> Longer-ish butt of a chapter incoming...glad you all have been enjoying it so far. I'm planning to this up in a couple more chapters.
> 
> Enjoy!

Vaughn cradled his chin in hand while drumming fingers on the table. Once again, an ECHOmap of the region lay out across the top, with the Vault’s location highlighted most prominently.

“Perhaps we should proceed,” Loader Bot said.

“I’d hate to exclude him, though,” Vaughn said.

August perched on the edge on the other side, huffing as he wiped a rag over the stock and barrel of his pistol for the third time. Sasha shifted in her chair again, then kicked her feet up onto the table.

“Hey, sis?” she said.

Arms crossed, Fiona glanced over to Sasha. “What?”

“What’s taking him so long?”

Fiona shrugged. “How should I know?”

“You saw him last,” Vaughn said.

“Yeah, and we agreed on half an hour.”

“Well, it’s been nearly twice as long since you came by this morning,” August said, snapping the magazine back into place. He then looked over to her, his stare joining everyone else’s in focusing on Fiona.

“I swear,” Fiona said under her breath. “Alright, I’ll go drag him over here. At gunpoint.”

“Good idea,” Sasha called as Fiona moved to leave.

 _Was is such a complicated request, Rhys?_   Fiona huffed as she ran a finger under her collar, fuming with frustration as she stormed through the central base. She combed over their conversation that morning, and a tidbit that she ignored before suddenly struck her as incredibly salient. _Didn’t he mention an alien? What if-_

She lurched to a halt as she collided with Athena.

“Oof. Sorry,” Athena said.

Fiona steadied the hat on her head, then said, “It’s alright.”

“You know where everybody is? I have a recon report to make.”

“They’re all here, inside. Good timing, since we’re needing to discuss the bandit problem.”

“So then where are you headed?”

Fiona narrowed her eyes. “To collect that wonderful embodiment of aggravation we call Rhys.”

“Oh,” Athena said, drawing out the syllable.

Fiona scanned her with a side eye. “Do you know where he is?”

“Yeah, I do,” Athena said, smiling. “I let him borrow my bike. Said he lost something important out there in the dirt.”

“You _what?_ ” Fiona said, her eyes widening. “First of all, you let him,  _him_ touch your bike. Secondly, you let him go by himself?”

Athena shrugged. “He seemed sincere, and I didn’t see the harm. I made it clear that it’s his ass on the line if he doesn’t come back with my bike, and soon.”

“I can’t believe-!” Fiona started. She huffed. “I’ve got to go find him.” She attempted to push past Athena. She stopped, however, when Athena blocked her with a hand at her shoulder.

“You worry about him too much.”

“No, you don’t know him like I do. He’s up to something.” She tried again to pass Athena, but the latter moved to grasp her arm.

“True, I may not know him as well, but I know you. I can tell that he’s important to you - damned if I know why - but this is a mountain out of a spiderant hill.”

“But-,” Fiona started. Her shoulders drooped.

Athena smirked. “More to the point, I think this is an opportunity for you to practice a little trust.”

“Trust?” Fiona scoffed. “In Rhys?”

“He’s been through just as much as you have, and you guys have more in common than you think. He can take care of himself. And as someone who tends to put her significant other through a lot of stress and anxiety, I promise you, it’s never personal.”

Fiona looked away, her face falling. “So I should just put up with it like Janey does?”

At that, Athena’s expression darkened. She released Fiona’s arm. “Yeah. I guess that’s the idea. I catch hell for it, and I deserve it most of the time. But it lets me know that she really cares.”

Fiona’s scowl returned. “I plan to give him worse than that. Especially since his stupidity tends to get us all in trouble.”

Suddenly, a frightful shrieking split the air. The sound reverberated across the hillsides and echoed throughout the valley where New Helios stood. Athena and Fiona both looked at each other in confusion, then dashed out from the base. As the inhuman wailing grew closer, Fiona made out the words that formed.

“SPECIAL DELIVERY! SPECIAL DELIVERY!” Crazed giggles and shrill cackles followed before it was repeated. The shrieking drew them toward the main gates. Fiona jogged to a stop, with Athena doing the same beside her. Through the open gate, Fiona spotted a trail of dust following a lone figure gaining at full sprint along the long stretch toward New Helios. She glanced up to see the guards in the sentry towers take aim. Instinctively, she readied the gun in her sleeve.

“Halt there!” one of the guards shouted.

“It’s a psycho,” Athena said, adjusting the grip on her shield. “As if it’s going to listen.”

The psycho, however, came to stop just outside the entrance even as its cackling and giggling continued. Amidst its boisterous chatter, he shrieked once more. “I HAVE A MESSAGE FOR A FEEEEEEEEE-ONA!”

Fiona swallowed, glancing around at the handful of gawkers also drawn by the commotion. With some hesitation she stepped forward. She shouted, “I’m Fiona!”

“YAY!” yelled the psycho. In a blink of an eye, the psycho yanked a box container from his belt loop and held it high above him. Panic struck Fiona when the distinctive whine of a bomb cooking off ensued. She brought her arms up to shield her face, closing her eyes as an explosion of blood and meat wracked her intestines and eardrums. When nothing else came, she peeked an eye open to see Athena a step ahead of her with her shield open.

“Thanks,” Fiona said.

Athena retracted her shield. “Why didn’t you just shoot the bastard!” she shouted at the guards.

“Uh, sorry!” one of them called.

“Do you see anything else?”

The guard scanned the landscape with binoculars before replying, “Nothing!”

Athena turned to Fiona. “Really, they should just assume that every psycho is rigged.”

A dull clang sounded from behind Athena, and Fiona looked past her shoulder at the blackened pockmark the psycho left behind. There, in the middle of the shallow crater and among the chunks of charred flesh, the container lay with the psycho’s hand and forearm still attached. Athena spotted it, too, but held out her hand.

“Hang on. Let me take a look in case it’s another nasty surprise.”

As Athena approached the container, a patter of footsteps came up from behind Fiona.

“What the hell was that?”

Fiona looked to see Vaughn, followed by August and Sasha, each with their weapons drawn.

“Suicide psycho,” Fiona said.

“Just one?” Vaughn asked.

“It’s a courier. Was a courier,” Fiona said, gesturing to Athena. The latter squatted down with her shield active. She reached with her other hand for the package in question, twisting off the severed limb first.

“You may want to stand further back,” Athena called. She waited until they retreated several more paces before flicking open the latches and slowly lifting the lid. “ECHO recorder,” she shouted as she extracted the device and stood up.

“Is it safe now?” Sasha called back.

“Yeah,” Athena said after placing her ear to it. “Pretty sure it’s a normal recorder.”

“I’m stayin’ right here,” August said.

Fiona took the first steps forward, then jogged over to stand just behind Athena’s shoulder. Sasha joined her on the other side, with Vaughn a few steps behind. Fiona reached out for the recorder, but Athena pulled it away.

“Hey! The message is for me,” Fiona said.

“Even so, I’m not letting you touch it. Just in case,” Athena said.

“Oh, this should be good,” Sasha said. “Maybe it’s from Rhys, and he’s stuck down a well.”

“That’s not funny,” Fiona said. “Why would a bandit need to deliver a message to me personally?”

“Let’s find out,” Athena said as she punched the play button.

_Hi Fiona. It’s your old buddies. You should know that skags don’t always finish a job like a bullet does._

Her throat dried in an instant, and her stomach knotted. Though the voice sounded more robotic than she remembered, she recognized it nonetheless.

“Oh my god, is that who I think it is?” Sasha whispered.

“Yeah,” Fiona said. “Finch.”

_But that ain’t the only pearl of wisdom we wanna share with you. You should also know that we found your corporate noodle boy. He says he needs you in order to get what’s inside the Vault, and that’s the only reason there ain’t a bullet hole between this freak’s eyes._

“He’s lying,” Fiona said.

_In case you think I’m bullshittin’ you, here’s the cyberman himself. Go on, say somethin’!_

There was a brief moment of dead air. Then:

_Ow, ow! Okay...Hey, uh, Fi. I’m sorry._

“That idiot!” Sasha said before covering her mouth. Fiona’s nostrils flared. She could feel the blood boil in her temples, and the knot in her stomach tightened.

_Finch’s voice returned. That’s enough! So now you see that we have a deal to make. You get your shit-talking ass to these coordinates before sundown, alone. In return, I don’t send pretty boy back to you in pieces, starting with his head. I got eyes on every hilltop, so if there is anybody else with you, I’ll plug him good, Vault be damned. You got me? Oh yeah, and one last thing: thanks for the bike._

The ECHO recorder clicked off. It trembled as Athena’s grip on it tightened.

“My bike. My poor bike,” she said, stunned. Her features then contorted into full rage. She shouted to the heavens. “That stupid, idiotic, JERK-ASS SON OF A BITCH!”

“What was that about trust?” Fiona said dryly. She snatched the recorder from Athena, turning to Vaughn. “I need a car.”

“Wait a minute. We definitely need a plan here. Do you really think it’s a good idea to go by yourself? How do you know they won’t just kill and eat you both as soon as you show up?”

“Because Finch believes he needs both of us to access the Vault.”

“Then what?” Vaughn said. “So let’s say that’s true, and you bring him whatever loot that’s inside. And then he kills you. I doubt he’s forgiven you for what happened to his friend.”

“Well, I’m hoping to figure out something before then. It’s what I’m good at.”

“No, I think I’ve got a better idea.” Calmer, Athena approached Fiona. “You’ll be able to rescue Rhys, and I’ll rescue my bike.”

She then snatched the hat off of Fiona’s head and placed it on her own.

* * *

 

The coordinates Finch provided fell on a bend in the canyon a few kilometers from the Vault. After Athena explained her plan, Vaughn reluctantly recalled a technical from patrol for her and Fiona. As the vehicle pulled up to the main gates, Fiona took one last moment to adjust the fit of her red boots, then her black gloves. Her revolver, removed from its spring, instead rested on the utility belt draped around her waist.

“Think my disguise looks okay?” Athena asked.

“Yeah. Kind of creepy, though. In a talking funhouse mirror kind of way,” Fiona replied, glancing up and down at Athena’s disguise-- an exact clone of Fiona, courtesy of the Quick Change station. “So weird. And nobody likes the sound of their own voice.”

Athena brushed the red-striped bang from her eyes, then touched her finger to the voice modulator at her throat. In her normal voice, she said, “Especially when it’s coming from you-but-not-you.”

“I have to say, though, your outfit’s pretty comfortable,” Fiona said, wrapping Athena’s cloak around her shoulders.

“Don’t get used to it.” She toggled the voice modulator back on. “Ready?”

Athena-as-Fiona headed for the technical, with Fiona-dressed-as-Athena following behind. While Athena leaped into the driver seat, Fiona, however, did not enter the passenger side. Instead, she stooped and crawled into undercarriage of the technical, grunting as metal pipes and bolts raked over her skin.

Once she secured herself, she knocked on the chassis. Athena’s voice sounded in her ear. “Can you hear me?”

“Loud and clear.” She winced as her revolver pressed into her back, and she fought back a vague sense of panic over being so confined. “This better work.”

The engine fired up, and the ground began to move under Fiona. Athena said, “A lot of it will depend on you. I’ll do my best, but you won’t have much time before they put two and two together. And if Finch is there to greet me-slash-you, then you’ll have even less.”

“Don’t worry. I can handle this.”

“I know you can, kiddo.”

At some point during the trek, Fiona shut her eyes as the interminable blur of the ground through the tangle of pipes made her queasy. She winced with every heavy bump and rough shudder as the vehicle ran across all manner of rocks and debri. _Can’t say that this is what I imagined myself doing today._ She wracked her brain for an explanation for Rhys’ behavior, a reason why he would purposefully ride out alone and into the clutches of bandits. She hoped - for his sake - that he had a good answer when she found him.

A violent slam knocked her out of her thoughts, and she let out a gasp as she rocked perilously close to the ground.

“You still hanging on under there?” she heard in her ear.

“Maybe slow down a little bit over the bumps, yeah?”

“Keep it together. I can see the camp from here. Give me just a second.” The bouncing subsided as the vehicle rolled to a stop. “Okay. Layout looks predictably loose and helter-skelter. There’s a compound covered in skag bones-- probably the throne room for His Royal Arse. There’s a line of shipping containers to the east, though, that are guarded. Could be barracks or holding cells.”

“That’s not very helpful.”

“Might be easier to tell when we get closer. Let’s go.”

The technical rumbled forward again, and Fiona quickly shut her eyes again. She only chanced opening them again after several minutes, when the technical lurched and came to a crawl. The technical’s horn blared.

Outside, Fiona heard a gruff shout from a bandit: “Stop the car and get your hands up!”

Fiona heard the brake engage and the engine shut off. In her voice, Athena replied, “Alright, fellas. I know I’m famous ‘round these parts, but let’s not get too excited.”

“You the one the Boss wanted to see?”

“Who the hell else would be driving up to your door unarmed?”

Another bandit said, “She look like the poster, don’t she?”

A pause. “Alright. Come on. Slowly!”

The engine revived, and the vehicle crawled several more meters before halting again. The ground that passed by darkened from sand to a filthy mud covered in bootprints and cigarette butts.

“Keep your hands up,” a bandit said. “Check her sleeves.”

“Come on, really? A pat down?” Athena-as-Fiona said.

“Yeah, really,” the bandit replied. “Nothin’ here.”

The first bandit said, “Good. Boss ‘ill see her in a minute. He’s uh, wants to fix up his friend a little.”

“Ugh. I don’t get it. The mother trucker’s dead as a doornail,” the second bandit said.

“The Boss is just coping with his loss in an obsessive and unhealthy way. We’ve all done it. Cut ‘im a break!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

The metal digging into Fiona’s sides made it increasingly difficult to wait for Athena’s signal. She gritted her teeth as Athena said, “Hang on a minute. I need to know that Rhys is still alive. Where is he?”

“Oh your boy toy’s still alive, and you’re just gonna have to trust us.”

“Well, don’t you have anywhere for a lady to wait in the shade? What about over there?”

The bandits laughed. “The con artist actually wants to spend time in a pen. Go figure. You know, if the Vault weren’t worth more to us than the bounty on your head, I just might let you.”

Nice, Fiona thought. She strained as her foot, however, began to fall asleep. “Hurry up,” she hissed.

“You know what? I don’t need your permission. I’m getting out of the sun whether you like it or not,” Athena said.

“Hey! Wait up!”

Fiona continued to listen as Athena was led away from the technical, but the voices faded. Fiona perked up when a crackle came to her ear. In a low voice, Athena said. “2 o’clock. Storage containers. Two guards. Move fast!”

In an instant, Fiona was shuffling her way out of the undercarriage and spilled onto the dirt. She remained crouched as she glanced around, checking for hostile signs of life before darting for cover. Staying low, she snuck between piles of junk, discarded appliances and barrels, all making for sufficient cover as she neared the storage containers-- three of them lined in a row. The guards rocked and shifted on their feet, each toting a rifle at their bellies as they stared off into the bluffs.

“What do you think’s inside the Vault?” one of them asked.

“I dunno. Your mom?”

“Heh. That’d be my fat luck.”

“Right? My mom ate one of my cousins one time.”

“That I didn’t care to know, Frank.”

“Yeah, well-, urk!”

Fiona silenced him with a twist of his neck. In the next instant, she grabbed the dead guard’s rifle and thrust the butt of it into the second guard’s temple. He dropped like a stone. Fiona quickly patted them for a key, and extracted one from under the dead guard’s lapels. Her hand also fell on the handle of a familiar object at the guard’s waist: Rhys’ stun baton. She grabbed it, too, before dragging the bodies out of sight.

Starting with the first storage container, she squeaked open its door. She instantly covered her face when the stench of fresh sewage assaulted her nostrils. She quickly scanned the interior for signs of life, and just as quickly shut the door.

The second container she opened actually contained neatly arranged supplies of food and ammo, much to her surprise.

At the third and final container, she paused. A feeling of dread washed over her. Nonetheless, she ran the key and twisted the handle. When she peeked inside, she heaved a sigh of relief. Holes punched in the roof filtered in enough light for her to see orange swirls of hair and the bright shine of chrome. Slumped on the floor with his chin tilted down, he seemed to be in slumber.

She shut the door quietly behind her. “Rhys!” she hissed.

He roused, blinking his eyes. “Fi? That you? I had a terrible dream.”

Fiona furrowed her brow at the black welt over his left eyebrow, in addition to the flicker of the damaged cybernetics there. She then noticed that his artificial arm hung loosely from his shoulder socket by its wiring only.

Time, however, was of the essence. “Get up! Athena is buying us time to get your ass out of here!”

“Athena? Aren’t you...? Whoa, hang on a minute!” Rhys said as his faculties returned to him. “Fiona! You’re here? Why are you in Athena’s clothes?”

Fiona squatted to cover his mouth. “Shh! We got Finch’s little ransom note.”

“Oh,” Rhys replied when she released him, his eyes darting away from hers.

Suddenly, a surge of anger coursed through her. Before she could stop herself, she raised a hand and smacked him on the cheek. He brought a hand up to the cheek and stared at her in shock.

“‘Oh’ is right. What the hell were you thinking? Why couldn’t you have told me what you were planning to do? Was this all about what happened this morning?”

Rhys sputtered. “N-no! Nothing about this morning. I’m glad you came by, actually. I wouldn’t have figured it out otherwise.”

“Figured out what?”

“That the Vault wants us together.”

She raised her arm again.

Rhys quickly said, “I mean, for us to go in together. We’re linked to it somehow.”

Fiona’s face - and her hand - fell. “That doesn’t explain why you left without telling me.”

Rhys’ throat bobbed, and he sighed. “This is sounds incredibly stupid now, but I thought I was keeping you safe.”

Fiona blinked, saying, “What?”

“I thought I had it under control.”

“Tell me, Rhys.”

Rhys took a deep breath, looking up to the ceiling. “Alright. Uglypants? Come on. Gotta do the reveal now.”

Fiona staggered backward and onto her backside when in that instant, Rhys’ mechanical arm glowed with purple runes. “I also think I know why there was a delay me returning to Pandora,” Rhys added. Fiona could hardly formulate a reply as her eyes scanned the strange writings.

Rhys continued, “It’s like they tagged me, and now they’re observing me. They want to know why the Vault accepted us. But I don’t care what they want. So I came out here, thinking I could toss it away in the Vault and be done with it.”

Fiona said, “So wait-- who’s Uglypants?”

Rhys shut his eyes. “The one we met during our first trip through the Vault. He’s the alien who lives in my arm and is also in my head. Like I told you.”

“You didn’t-...I thought you were joking!”

“I know.”

 _So this is kind of my fault, too._ Fiona rolled forward onto her feet, venturing a hand out to touch the writings. The metal was still cold even as she traced her fingertips over them. “I’m sorry,” she said. “And I’m sorry for what those bastards did to your face.”

“Uh, right. Yeah, _they_ did this,” Rhys said. He smiled. “But I deserved it, just as much as I deserved your oh-so-tender touch just now.”

She returned the smile, until she said, “Are you rolling your eyes at me?”

“No! Just Uglypants talking. I’d never thought I’d say this, but I kind of miss Jack.”

“Well? What’s he saying?”

Rhys swallowed another lump. “Nothing important.”

“No, tell me.”

“You don’t want to know. Besides, you said we needed to hurry, and I need your help getting my arm back into place.”

Fiona backed away slightly and said, “Okay, then. What do you need me to do?”

Rhys reached into his pocket and extracted three screws. “Damn it,” he hissed.

“What?”

“They took my screwdriver, too.”

“Ah, right,” Fiona said. She produced the stun baton, and he reeled in surprise. Then, she said, “As for a screwdriver, I got you covered.” She reached into a compartment of the utility belt around her waist. “Brought my lockpicking stuff with me this time.”

“You’re really amazing,” he said. She detected no hint of sarcasm, and the way he looked at her - his eyes soft, almost longing - almost made her drop the screws he poured into her hand.

“Tell me what to do,” she said.

Rhys sat up straighter and shifted to lean his right shoulder toward her. “I got it hinged and wired, but do you see the three holes in the joint? Kinda in a triangle pattern?”

She peered into the opening, squinting in the dim light. “Yeah. I think so. Screws there?”

“Right.”

Her screwdriver was miniature, and so she struggled somewhat with aligning it with the screws. Rhys then offered to hold the screws in place while she twisted, producing much better results. She worked quickly, but felt keenly aware of his proximity, and his breath on her cheek. Out of the corner of her eye, she kept tabs on the fact the he never stopped staring at her.

“That’s good,” Rhys said as she tightened the last one. “Now you’ve got to push in the joint to lock it in place.”

Fiona pocketed her screwdriver, then placed her hands against the shoulder and gave it a strong push. Then another. The third time, finally, it snapped back in place. Rhys rotated the arm slowly, nodding. “Yeah, that’s about perfect.” He then hoisted himself up to stand. “Thanks.”

Fiona stood, picking up his stun baton. “Rhys, listen-,” she began, handing it to him.

Her blood, however, ran cold when she heard the distinctive _pop-pop_ of gunfire.


	8. Destiny

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hooo boy. Sorry for that last cliffhanger, but here's the next bit, just in time for the weekend. I have one more chapter planned after this. Hope you enjoy and don't mind some of my stupid fan theory

Rhys secured his stun baton at his waist as Fiona pressed a finger to her ear. “Athena! Come in! What is going on?”

The alien voice spoke in his mind. “Subject, I believe it’s time I proposed a deal of my own.”

_Thank you, but I don’t make deals with voices in my head anymore._

A muffled din of whizzing and popping erupted as more gunfire rang out. Instinctively, Rhys crouched.

“I think you’ll be very interested.”

_How about you shut up, and your precious Subject doesn’t get killed? Fair?_

“Yes, I have him!” Fiona blinked, wide-eyed. “No! We can’t...o-okay. We’ll meet you there.” To Rhys, she said, “Let’s go, and keep your head down!”

He followed her lead as she squatted low and crept forward. As she pushed open the door, another burst of gunfire rang out. Pushing down a lump in his throat, he dashed for cover along with her when a pause in the commotion came.

“I’ve collected enough information, except for one last piece. If you and Subject 2 enter the Vault once more, then I will consider my business with you to be concluded,” the alien said.

Rhys perked up. _Concluded? You mean-?_

Amid another eruption of gunfire, the roar and chug of Athena’s motorcycle drowned out his thoughts, and drew his attention towards Finch’s den. A doppelganger of Fiona launched from the lair of skag bones atop Athena’s motorbike, and with an energy shield active on her back. A swarm of bandits poured out from every crevice of the mound, and from every ancillary shack and domicile. Sharp clangs and whistles soon filled his ears as they pursued her and unleashed a hail of bullets.

“That’s Athena?” He glanced back at the real Fiona, who urged him to proceed with hard tug on his left arm. Her hand slipped into his as she guided him forward towards an awaiting technical. Clumps of dirt pelted him as bullets ricocheted all around, spooking him into a more rapid pace. They stopped only for a moment to catch their breath behind the armor-plated vehicle.

“Hey! Who’s there!” a bandit barked, sounding far too close for comfort. When a spray of bullets battered the vehicle, Rhys’s breath hitched. The bandit continued, “Don’t pretend you ain’t!”

In reply, Fiona rose fast and returned fire over the engine hood, firing off two rounds. Rhys listened as the rapid bursts of fire reduced the bandit to a screaming heap of charred flesh.

“Get in the passenger side,” she ordered.

Rhys exhaled the breath he was holding, then wasted no time crawling in, keeping his head ducked low. The motorcycle boomed and crackled again. He chanced a glance over the dash. He spotted Finch, his checkered gun aimed at dopple-Fiona’s raised shield.

“GOD _DAMN_ YOU! THAT WAS HIS BIRTHDAY GIFT!”

“Dead people don’t get to celebrate birthdays anymore, you sick bastard! And it was my bike in the first place!”

“Your bike? Ha! You want me to believe that, con-woman?”

The doppelganger touched her fingers to her neck. Fiona’s brown hair wiped away, and Athena’s lavender locks replaced it.

“Yeah, I do,” Athena said. She removed Fiona’s hat and tossed it back toward the car, where Fiona snatched it from the air. “And as you can see, we’ll be having back our village idiot that you stole, too.”

“Hey!” Rhys called, indignant.

“Oh my-,” FIona began. “Finch?” Rhys glanced at her, seeing her reel in horror.

Finch snapped his attention to the real Fiona. “ _You-!_ ” He grunted, then howled with rage. “I will kill _all_ o’ you, then burn your city to the ground! To hell with the Vault!”

Fiona shook her head. “Just let us go. If you don’t, I promise I won’t make the same mistake this time.”

“No, you won’t, ‘cause it’ll be your face gettin’ fed to the skags! _CAVALRY! LET’S GO!_ ” His hybridized voice boomed through the canyon. His call summoned a fleet of bandit technicals that burst from garages dug out along the cliff face. A trio of them converged on Athena, Fiona, and Rhys. Bandits in the passenger seats stood up and took aim with rocket launchers.

“Get going!” Athena shouted, waving.

Fiona leaped into the driver seat and set a hard reverse, then threw the car into drive and gunned it. Rhys violently shifted forward, then back, then side to side. Rockets whizzed by and exploded in the dirt beside them, causing another bout of terrible thrashing. The contents of his stomach bubbled in the back of his throat, but worse than that, his left eye began to short. The sputtering sensory circuits translated the sensation into a blinding headache. All he could do was curl up and groan as he covered his eye with a hand and waited for the pain to subside.

“Get it together, would you?” Fiona said, shifting the gear up. “I need you to look out for us! Right now!”

Rhys’ vision returned like a parting fog, though only in his biological eye. The pain subsided to a dull ache. He tapped on his left temple. “I’m half-blind here. Can’t promise any miracles.”

“I don’t need a miracle. I just need your best, okay?”

Her statement threw a switch inside him. _Right. Get it together, Rhys._ He pushed down the bile in his throat, and, ignoring his headache, he rotated in his seat. Every bump and swerve threatened to toss him from the speeding vehicle. He began to sweat when he saw the three technicals hot on their tail, with Athena just ahead of them. She zigzagged, deflecting bullets with her shield as she ran a valiant distraction. Even she, however, could not stop another rocket from sailing toward them.

“Right!” Rhys blurted. Fiona swerved the car to the right, dodging the incoming missile. A plume of smoke and dust blasted into the air. The leftmost bandit car sailed through the haze unscathed. Athena cried out, focusing her fury on the same technical. Brandishing her sword, and with superb balance, she swerved and slashed through the closest tires, each in a single stroke. The speeding technical rocked and bounced as the rocky ground shredded the rubber to pieces, and crushed its occupants when it finally tumbled over on itself.

The minor victory was short lived, however, when another bandit car appeared from out of the dust to take the fallen one’s place. A distinctive thunk and a puff of smoke signaled another oncoming assault.

“Left! Left!” Rhys shouted over his shoulder.

Fiona swerved, and the projectile whistled by just to their right overhead. The blast sent up another column of dirt, and the rushing air pushed them into a rough fishtail. The bandits closed the distance as they paused to reload.

“We’re not gonna outrun them!” Rhys called to Fiona.

“You got a better idea?” she shouted back.

He twisted around, and in that instant he spotted his better idea, standing several kilometers down the canyon. “Fiona, the Vault!”

“What about it!”

“Drive us into it!”

“What?”

“Finch won’t be able to follow us! Then Athena can get away!”

Fiona was silent for a pause. But then, she put a finger to her ear. “We’re heading for the Vault. Yes, it _is_ stupid. But Rhys thinks we’ll be safer in there. _I know..._ ”

That was when Rhys spotted Finch on the center car, lifting a launcher to his shoulder.

“Athena!” he called, pointing. “Finch!”

Athena, however, in the midst of speaking to Fiona, reacted a second too late. “Hey!” she shouted, throwing her shield at Finch, but he had already pulled the trigger. Rhys yelped and fell back into the passenger seat, grabbing anything he could to keep from being thrown from the car as the rockets slammed into the ground, inches from the back left corner. Shrapnel obliterated the tire, and the technical shuddered violently as it dropped and listed heavily to the left.

“Damn it!” Fiona fought with the wheel, but struggled as the bare axle kicked up a shower of sparks. “We’re not going to make it!”

Rhys hoisted himself up and twisted to look through the cracked windshield. The shining light of the Vault grew closer every second. “We’ll make it! Just a little further!”

But the bandits, too, gained ever increasing ground on their crippled car. The near-simultaneous _cracks_ of launchers from the bandit cars flanking them torpedoed Rhys’ optimism. “Oh shit,” he breathed. Time slowed to a crawl as the bombs corkscrewed through the air, aimed directly at their back bumper. “Fiona!” He leaped up and flung himself around her back, hoping to shield her from the ensuing blast. Rhys shut his eyes tightly and braced himself.

“Rhys-!” Fiona started.

Rather than an explosion, a gentle warmth rolled over the length his body.  A weightlessness followed. He peeked open his healthy eye, only for it to be flooded with bright light. The car soon began to dissolve out from underneath them, yet their momentum kept them hurdling forward in a state not unlike zero-G.

Once the car vanished completely, the light receded. So, too, did their weightlessness, and Rhys crashed on top of Fiona. With a grunt, he pushed up onto his elbows and lifted his chin.

No longer were they in the canyon, but returned to another plane. Instead of the brown rock and sand of Pandora, Rhys took in the cavern of black stone, alive and pulsing with lines of mysterious purple energy. Grinning ear-to-ear, he said, “We did it!”

Between his elbows, Fiona groaned as she shifted. “Get off of-!” She paused when her eyes met their surroundings. “We did it.”

Rhys rolled off and stood up. “Close one,” he said, and offered her his hand.

“Nothing I’m not used to at this point.” She grasped his wrist and rose to her feet. “But I hope Athena’s okay.”

“I’m sure she is.”

Fiona began a slow pace forward, glancing about. “It all looks the same as before. That’s comforting somehow.”

Rhys followed, now noticing the staircase leading to the same box they had opened together, its lid shut tightly once more. “It’s a interpretation of our expectations. I think the stairs are a little shorter, though.”

“Now that you mention it, yeah. They’re about half as far away now.”

They passed underneath an archway. Rhys froze, overcome with dread when his artificial arm began to glow. Fiona proceeded a few steps ahead until she glanced over her shoulder. She spun around, reeling with alarm.

Rhys held out his left hand, saying, “Don’t move.”

The alien voice spoke. “Well done, Subject. For once, your performance is satisfactory.”

Rhys knitted his brow. _Hooray. Are you going to leave us alone, now?_

“Rhys, I hear him, too,” Fiona said, wide-eyed.

At that, Rhys grew annoyed. He shouted, “Hey! Uglypants! Where are you?” His breath caught when the alien materialized close behind Fiona, brandishing a spear.

Fiona glanced over her shoulder, then gasped in surprise. She stumbled backward, coming to a stop beside Rhys. “Wait a minute. I thought the Vault only allowed in pairs,” she said.

The alien approached them, saying, “Our kind has spent ages within this temple. It does not reject my presence.”

Rhys pulled and activated his stun baton. Fiona, too, pulled her revolver from her belt and aimed it dead center at the alien. Their open threats prompted something of a chuckle from the alien, and it stopped just ahead of the baton’s crackling tip.

“Well, you seem pretty threatening to us right now,” Rhys said. “What else is it that you want?”

“While my observation period was short, my peers and I have reached a unanimous conclusion.”

“Whatever,” Rhys said. He lifted his right arm. “Uncurse me. Now.”

The alien lifted its hand. “The temple needs its guardian.”

The characters inscribed on Rhys’ arm glowed in response. “Ah-!” Pins and needles shot up his spine. Somehow, the alien letters burned him, as though a brand were pressed into his skin.

“Stop right now!” Fiona said, thrusting with her gun. But when the alien pointed its spear at her, she froze in an unnatural paralysis.

“Who better to replace the one you sundered, than with you, the ones whom the temple favors?”

“Us? Guardians?” Rhys ground out. He grit his teeth. “ _That’s_ what this was all about?”

“You should be honored. You are the first of your kind to be granted this solemn charge.”

“And if we refuse?” Fiona said, trembling.

“You cannot. This is your common destiny. This is what the temple intends for you.”

“No!” Rhys shouted. His heart quickened. “That-that can’t be right."

He heard Fiona whimper, and sensed her strain against the alien magic. Though pain stabbed through his every muscle, he thrust forward with his stun baton. There was nothing rapid about it when, in addition to the pain, a great weight fell on his every fiber, as if a sudden gravity well appeared underneath him. The pull downward made him sink into the black stone up to his ankles. The floor continued to devour him and Fiona like quicksand.

“Rhys,” Fiona said, her voice shaky. He forced his head around, meeting her terrified eyes.

The sight angered him, and he refused to surrender himself without a fight. He, however, had only his wits left to deploy. Turning back to the alien, he said, “Hang on! Wait! Don’t you want to hear my theory?”

“As you say: Nope,” the alien said, drawing out the word.

“That's disappointing. It’s a doozy, too. And unfair, given how much I’ve had to endure your nonsense and blah blah blah.”

The alien sighed, and their sinking paused. “Well?” it said.

Rhys grinned. “Thank you. Now you may have been observing me, but I’ve been observing you, too. And based on the data _I’ve_ collected, I think it offends you that the temple accepted us so readily, and it didn’t take- what was it? Ages?”

“Irrelevant,” the alien boomed. Their descent into the floor resumed.

Rhys continued, “But it’s worse than that, isn’t it? Your oh-so-holy temple sees us as equals. I think it does more than offend you-- it _frightens_ you!”

“Enough!”

Then, it dawned. He spoke as as much to himself as to the alien. “And your plan is to contain us here. I don’t think this has anything to do with the Vau-, ah!”

The runes on Rhys’ arm flared, and he grunted in pain.

“Yes, you disgust me,” the alien said. “Your kind is chaotic. You do nothing but lie, plunder, and burn. You carelessly tread where you do not belong. How could the temple - whose power resonates with harmonious souls - welcome _you?_ Do you understand now? It only wants you here because it no doubt sensed your capability as savage warriors, and nothing more.”

“Yeah, but there’s one problem with that you’re overlooking.” Rhys looked over to Fiona, the latter now sunk halfway up her thighs. “You may be right about most of us, and I have my share of blood on my hands. But me and Fiona?” He smiled. “You see, how do I put this?  She’s the good cop to my bad.”

He continued to hold her eyes, even as the alien said, “What?”

“The midge to my mong.”

Her eyes widened.

“The Pandora to my Helios. Not that there's a Helios anymore, but you get my drift.  My life just wouldn't be right without her.”

“Seriously?” she said, almost a whisper.

“Seriously, and I’m sorry you got mixed up in this with me.”

With a pained expression, she shook her head, saying, “Don’t be sorry.”

He sighed.  “Well, I thought you should know, in case I am utterly wrong about all of this and we do end up as Vault monsters.”

“I’m glad to be facing this together, Rhys, whatever happens.”

“Ugh,” the alien said, but its presence no longer mattered to Rhys. Fiona’s words soothed his fears, and he shut his eyes, resigning himself to their destiny.

“Rhys, look,” Fiona said, her gaze lifting from him to the alien. He thought he would strain to follow her eyes, but the weight on him suddenly lifted. A speck of light appeared above the alien, and expanded into a brilliant golden orb. As it did so, the floor pushed Rhys up and out of the strange morass that held him. Fiona, too, was released from the tangle.

“The temple...” the alien said, looking upwards.

Though the runes on his arm still smoldered, Rhys seized the opportunity and lunged with his baton. He thrust it forward, but the alien reacted quickly. It jammed its spear shaft into his abdomen and flung him back.

As Rhys staggered backwards, Fiona took her shots, firing in rapid succession. The alien deflected them with ease, saying, “Your arrogance has contaminated you. The temple now rejects you as its keepers. A pity. Now I see that there is nothing else for you but to die as a sacrifice.”

As the alien thrust its spear toward Rhys, the orb of light pulsated. He reeled when, from it, a thunderous lance of energy skewered the alien through.

Though its doll-like face remained expressionless, Rhys sensed its absolute astonishment. “You are-...” the alien sputtered before slinking to its knees, motionless. The runes on Rhys’ arm flashed, and at once crumbled away like ashes. The alien’s body promptly disintegrated into flecks of gold, whirling upwards until fully incorporated into the orb of light.

They stared at the orb, jaws slack. “The Vault, it…” Rhys began, glancing down at his freed arm.

“It preserved us,” Fiona finished.  

“We weren’t the ones who were conflicted,” Rhys observed, putting away his stun baton.

“I guess you were right. I’m impressed.”

“Trust me, I’m as surprised as you are.”

She turned to him, and a smirk crossed her lips. “You are full of surprises, Romeo.”

Rhys felt his face flush at the remark, but nonetheless rejoined, “You were surprised?”

“Touché.”

Then, almost whimsically, the orb of light bounded up the staircase, tracing a path to the box at its apex. It orbited it once, then dimmed and vanished.

“Think that’s our cue. Shall we?” Rhys said, gesturing her toward the steps.

“Let's get going before some other alien decides to spoil the moment.”

They climbed at a slightly more hurried pace than the first time, helping each other over the uneven heights and gaps. When they arrived on the final platform, Rhys reached out for the box, placing his hand on the lid. He glanced over to her.

“Together, right?”

Fiona smiled.  “Together.”  Before she placed her hand on the lid, she slipped her other hand in his. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fixed some continuity


	9. Message to the Universe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I went a little nuts with this chapter. There is a lot of shit going on. You know what? It's the last chapter, let's get silly. 
> 
> *** I also want to express just how grateful I am for all of the wonderful and helpful feedback I received while completing this fic. It helped tremendously in keeping my posting schedule on track despite having some busy days. I'm so glad to have this idea out of my system now, and to have actually COMPLETED a fanfic. Woo hoo *confetti and party favors*
> 
> I will see about coming back to this for some revisions and touch-ups, but in the meantime I'm about ready to kick my feet up, sip on some wine, and have another TFTBL playthrough. As always, Enjoy!

White light spilled out from the box, washing her in an initial sense of déjà vu. She floated within a soothing warmth that infused her body, exposing her, yet charging her with indomitable potential. The feeling was heady, yet solemn as before.

She gripped Rhys’ hand tightly as a tingling sensation crept down her arm as wisps of energy flowed over her revolver. It grew hot in her hand, almost searing, but she did not wince nor cast it off.

A sudden flash blinded her. Rhys’ hand slipped from hers. “Rhys? Are you-,”

In the next moment, the fiery pain in her palm vanished, and with it the alien surroundings melted into the surrounding light. The light fled in the next instant, and gravity resumed its pull. She fell onto her knee, seeing familiar dusty ground of Pandora beneath her. To her relief, Rhys, too, had been deposited in a crouch next to her.

“Are you alright?” she asked him.

He turned to her. “Yeah,” he said, sounding groggy. “You?”

“Your eye,” Fiona said to him, standing up and releasing his hand. His left eye, now healed and whole, held a dim spark of heavenly light.

He stood, pressing a finger to his left temple. “Yeah, I can see again. Something-...,” He paused, blinking rapidly. “Strange about it, though.” His gaze dropped to the baton at his belt. Cautiously, he reached for it. Its shaft was transformed from its black metal to a polished ashen stone. The tip no longer just flickered with electricity, but crackled with lightning.

Fiona held up her weapon to examine it. It appeared unchanged, except for one peculiarity. She pursed her lips when she noticed that instead of three element chambers as before, there now existed a fourth.

“Gifts,” she said, awestruck.

Rhys swung the baton, chuckling darkly as the air popped with discharge. “How about that? I feel sorry for the poor bastard who gets the business end of these.”

Fiona moved to respond, but a sharp crack boomed through the canyon and interrupted her train of thought. She turned, gazing up where the Vault arch still stood. Its light was gone, and only an empty hollow remained. The veins of alien energy that pulsed through the rock darkened, and soon a rain of dust and sand poured down as the stone shifted and deformed.

“Come on!” she said, reaching to guide Rhys into a sprint beside her. Chunks of stone tumbled from the top of the arch, and larger stones followed as the arch continued to collapse. The ground shuddered under the cascade, and billow of dust and sand surged from the impact. The sandstorm overtook them, and Fiona shielded her face with the back of her hand as she moved forward. Only when the clatter subsided, and Rhys slowed did she stop and lower her arm.

The dust drifted away in the wind, revealing the heap of dead rock where the Vault had been. She moved to stand by Rhys, the latter hunched over with labored breathing. She, too, paused for the moment to catch her breath.

“It’s gone. Somehow, I feel sorry,” Fiona then said, glancing at her weapon.

Rhys straightened, breathing hard, though no longer heaving. He tried to brush dust out his hair, saying, “I wouldn’t.” With a grunt, he gave up. “Whatever power gave us this stuff - and our lives - probably knew what would happen.”

“True, but that’s what worries me, too. Why give us these things?”

“I don’t know. But if I had to guess, it’s because there really is something greater we’re meant to see.”

Fiona crossed her arms. “Gee, that’s comforting.”

Rhys gave her a soft smile. “Well, I think I can face anything as long as it’s with you.” He looked away, saying, “I’m starting to think that was the real gift.”

Heat rose under her collar, and filled every capillary in her cheeks. She smiled. _Was he always this adorable?_   “I think you might be onto something there.”

When Rhys turned back to her, he was grinning, and his left eye glowed even brighter. “You know, Uglypants did have one suggestion that wasn’t actually terrible.”

“Oh?”

“The timing was awkward, of course. I mean, you were stuck in a bandit holding cell with me.”

“Just spit it out.”

“He, uh, in his weirdly clinical and disinterested way, suggested I should kiss you. For science, I guess.”

“Yeah, the timing would have been awkward. And creepy with an alien watching us,” she said.

“I know, right?” Rhys said, clearing his throat and suddenly becoming fascinated with the handle of his baton.

She smiled. She closed the distance, and relished the brief glimpse of surprise on his face before she threaded her free hand in his hair and pulled him to her lips. His hand clumsily found their way to the small of her back, but he soon pulled her closer and deeper. It confirmed to her where the warm, cozy feelings she had stemmed from-- and there was nothing mysterious nor alien about it.

When they pulled away, he said, "Though to be honest, I think I've been wanting to do that before all this Vault and aliens nonsense."

She smoothed a lock of his hair. "Yeah, somehow I had a hunch."

He smiled. "And I have a hunch you wouldn't mind it happening again?"

"I think I'd mind just the opposite."

He grazed his lips over her forehead, her cheeks, then her ear. “Good, because I’m not sure I’ll be able to stop anytime soon,” he murmured. She turned to him and captured his lips again with hers.

Her eyes popped open when ears caught the loud pop and rumble car engines, then the crunch of gravel beneath tires. She pulled away when the shrill blare of a car horn sent her reeling. She instantly untangled herself from Rhys to face their intruders.

“Great,” he said.

Three bandit technicals encircled them, kicking up swirls in the dust. The drivers howled at them, taunted them, and blew their horns. After what seemed like an eternity of wild commotion, the cars came to idle several meters ahead from them. In the center, Finch stood in the passenger seat, and hoisted a rocket launcher to his shoulder.

“Well, well. You and the company man, huh? Nothin’ like raidin’ a Vault to get you in the mood, huh?”

Fiona replied, “Leave us alone, Finch. I warned you before.”

“Uh, uh. Not a chance. We all saw the Vault comin’ down, and now that you’re here, and it’s not, you better have somethin’ to show for it. Your Vault Hunter scampered off, so you _better_ hand it over.”

Fiona nodded to his launcher. “And that’s your argument?” She clicked her tongue. “You never were very persuasive.”

Finch grew visibly agitated, saying, “An alien touch you in the head or somethin’? You gonna give us whatever it is you found in there, or this piece is gonna turn you into two bloody smears, you get me?”

She glanced over to Rhys, who answered with a knowing look. “Wait a minute,” he said when she lifted her gun. He pointed ahead of him with his stun baton. His left eye gleamed. “I think there’s something more to this.”

The current at its tip snapped and crackled, then an arc struck the ground. From the impact, a pair of twin ethereal constructs emerged, shaped like skags, and their bodies volatile and translucent. Though illusory, they stirred and snarled like the real things.

“Oh, wow. Wow wow wow. Yes!” he said, laughing with power-drunk delight. Fiona nodded, her lips pursed in approval.

“What the F*CK!” Finch shouted.

“I’ve got his lackeys if you want to take a swing at the big man,” Rhys said.

“Sounds like a plan,” Fiona said, lifting her weapon.

With a flick of his wrist, Rhys bade his minions to attack, and in flashes they split off and galloped for the two technicals on either side of Finch. In a panic, the bandits fired off rocket rounds at the oncoming creatures, but the missiles phased through the beasts and detonated in the ground behind them. In a single leap, they leaped over the car hoods and started in on mauling the occupants.

“Why’s it gotta be f*cking skags!” Finch roared over the blood-curdling shrieks of his men. He aimed his launcher squarely at Fiona and fired.

Fiona, however, already took aim at Finch and spun the chambers of her revolver, selecting the fourth, unknown element to imbue her shot with. She took a deep breath. _Here’s hoping this doesn’t just nuke us along with the entire canyon._

When she depressed the trigger, the chamber glowed white. Her grip tightened in an effort to keep it steady as the barrel elongated, and a stream of light burst from the tip. The shot cut through the air like a comet, its wake alone destroying Finch’s rocket mid-flight. Unhindered, it sliced a direct path to Finch’s technical, and he crossed his arms in a vain attempt to shield himself. The bullet struck dead center, and tore through the upper half of the vehicle before exploding. The car - and Finch - were instantly devoured in a mighty fireball.

“For the record, I’m glad I’m on your side,” Rhys said to her, mouth agape.

Reeling, Fiona glanced down to see the barrel and chamber return to its normal state, with a flicker of light indicating the charge was only momentarily spent. _Wasn’t the entire canyon, I suppose._

“Likewise,” Fiona answered, gesturing to his baton. “How did you figure that one out?”

Rhys shrugged, looking up at the skags still wreaking bloody havoc. “I’m not one hundred percent sure, but my eye reacted as soon as I saw the bandits and, well, I guess the Vault gave me a little user-friendly programming.”

“I’m not sure if ‘friendly’ is the term they’d use,” Fiona said.

As she finished her sentence, another cacophony of whooping bandits and whirring car engines filled her ears, loud and abundant. A reinforcement of eight bandit cars flew across the canyon floor in disarray, but soon settled in a wide semi-circle around them. Psychos fidgeted impatiently in the cabs, and gunmen cocked their arms.

Meanwhile, the skag constructs sputtered, then vanished. Rhys backed up, stopping only when his back bumped hers. “Uh, Fiona? I hate to admit this, but that hat trick took bit of energy out of my weapon,” Rhys said, shaking the baton as its energy diminished.

“My gun’s not recharged, either,” Fiona said, her lips going dry.

“Guess we’re doing this the old fashioned way?”

Fiona furrowed her brow, spinning the barrels and selecting the fire element. “What’s the old fashioned way?”

“Um, I was kinda hoping there was one, and that you knew about it? Like some kind of Pandoran parley?”

Fiona rolled her eyes and scowled. “Unless you’ve got another Vault miracle you can conjure up, genius, I’d say we’re pretty boned.”

Reflexively, Fiona pointed her weapon when a door on one of the cars popped open. She pointed it away, however, when a bandit stepped down from the driver’s seat with his hands up. Despite his pose, he struck a rather casual stride as he strolled forward, coming to a halt just past the front bumper. After an awkward, pregnant pause, he then fell to his knees and folded forward, prostrating himself flat against the canyon floor. He rose, then bowed again.

As if on cue, every door of every technical popped open, and bandits spilled out from the cars to join their comrade in worship.

“Ooookay,” Rhys said. “Not what I had in mind. At all.”

“Hey!” Fiona started, addressing the crowd. “What gives?”

A bandit shouted, “You are blessed by the Vault!”

Another said, “You have free-hee-hee-d us!”

And a third shrieked, “PLEASE DON’T EAT US, OR BURN OUR HOMES!”

“Okay,” Fiona said, clearing her throat. “There won’t be anymore killing nor burning today!” she shouted back. “And there won’t ever be, so long as you leave this region, and never come back!”

“SO SPAKETH THE VAULT-GODS! WE SHALL DO AS THE VAULT-GODS COMMANDETH!”

“Uh, yeah!” Rhys said, waving his baton dramatically. “Away with you!”

At that, a bandit screamed. “THE VAULT-GOD IS ANGRY! AHHHH! RUN! HURRY!” Panic and pandemonium infected the masses as the bandits checked and tripped over each other.  They scratched and clawed as they piled into the vehicles, and stragglers sprinted away on foot as the cars dispersed in a frenzied escape.

As the terrified screams faded with the bandits, Fiona shook her head and exchanged another glance with Rhys.

“Vault-gods, huh?” Rhys said, grinning.

“Let’s not have it go to our heads.”

“You’re never any fun.”

She smirked, saying, “You just haven’t seen my kind of fun.” Once again, she reveled in Rhys’ expression-- a quirked brow, and a glint of terror in his eye. She offered her hand, and he relaxed when he accepted it.

Resecuring the baton at his belt, he said, “Well? What do you say? I think our work here is done.”

Fiona holstered her weapon on her back. They started forward, hand-in-hand. “Gonna be a walk. Once we tell Vaughn the good news, I’m finally getting out of Athena’s outfit and into a bath.”

After a brief once-over, Rhys said, “Armor looks good on you, and I’m not just saying that because you have a scary Vault gun.”

She threw him an incredulous look. She stopped, however, when the landscape erupted with the throaty rumbling of motors once more. After shutting her eyes and groaning, she said, “Are you kidding me?”

“Wait, Fiona.” When a distant trail of dust appeared, Rhys squinted. Then, he smiled broadly. “Think these are friendlies.”

A throng of New Helios technicals flowed down into the canyon from the bluffs, its passengers armed to the gills. A single motorcycle led them, barrelling like a dart down the long stretch toward them. Lavender hair waved and tossed about in the wind.

“Athena!” Fiona said, waving.

Athena turned into a sharp drift, and the bike squealed to a halt a few steps ahead of them. “I got us some help. Are you alright?”

“Groovy,” Rhys said.

“Yeah, we’re fine,” Fiona said.

“What happened to the Vault? Where’s Finch?” Athena asked, looking between them and the wreckages past them with some alarm.

“Rhys! Fiona!” The fleet of technicals rolled to a stop behind Athena, and Vaughn hopped out of the foremost car. Sasha, too, leaped out and followed behind.

“Hey, guys,” Rhys said, waving.

Sasha froze. “Is that-? Are you holding hands?” She grinned, dashing past Vaughn. “You’re holding hands! Ha! Sis, I’m so proud of you!”

Fiona sighed. She forgot about Rhys’ hand, but instead of pulling it away, she squeezed it and glanced over to him. “Thanks, Sash.”

“Okay, where’s the Vault, why is there a car on fire, and when did you find time to finally get with Fiona?” Vaughn asked, gesturing with both hands to the rock pile, the flaming carnage, and Rhys respectively.

“And what’s with your stun baton?” Sasha said, reaching out to touch the handle at Rhys’ side.

“Hey, now,” he said, bending away from her probing finger. He spoke Fiona’s mind when he then said, “Listen, we need some rest. We’ll tell you guys all about it when we get back.”

Sasha huffed. “Ugh. Fine.”

“Yeah, alright.  We’ll debrief at the base once you’re rested.  Gortys is beside herself with worry, too.  Come on, then,” Vaughn said, returning to the technical. “There’s some room for you two in the back.”

As Fiona moved to follow, Rhys stayed put, saying to Athena, “You know, I’m sorry I lied to you. And about losing your bike.”

“Tell it to Janey. She just might let you live,” Athena said, winking at him before revving her bike. He gulped as she turned and sped away.

Chuckling, Fiona tugged him forward. “Come on. Let’s go home.”

Her smile faded as she looked beyond him and over his shoulder at the mound of rubble that once enclosed the Vault. Reminded of their ordeal with the alien, a surge of unease coursed through her.  Intrusive thoughts said their victory could not be the last; this would not be the last time they met with such obscure and harrowing forces.

Yet as her focus returned to Rhys, with his mismatched gaze pointed forward, the dread receded from her mind and body. When that same gaze then met hers, her ambition renewed like a match on gasoline. And finally, when her defiant gaze met the sky, her lips curved upwards.

_You know what, Universe? Bring it on._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I debated giving Rhys and Fiona powers at all - because it's kinda dumb and maybe too overpowered - but then I said, "F*ck it, it's fanfic."

**Author's Note:**

> Cool? Fun? Stupid as hell? Let me know? Also let me know if there's any desire for a continuation. Have some brewing ideas...


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